


Pokémon: Sereginia Unleashed

by Sir_Chaos_Omega



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Ash Skips Unova, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Fakemon, Interspecies Romance, Serena is Part Pokemon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-19 02:08:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 32,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29743356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sir_Chaos_Omega/pseuds/Sir_Chaos_Omega
Summary: Ever since she was born, Serena has always been a strange girl, at times seeming to be more like a Pokémon than the human being she appeared to be, but when an unexpected reunion with a boy from her past sends her down the path of self-discovery she will learn that there is more to her than anyone could have ever imagined.
Relationships: Satoshi | Ash Ketchum/Serena
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	1. The Miracle Child

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FF.net Release Date: 01-01-2020  
> AO3 Release Date: 02-27-2021
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any other franchise which I may or may not use. I only own the fanmade Pokémon included in this story and even then I am using the name and base concept of "Sereginia" with permission of the author of "United Destiny: The Hero and the Hybrid", however, while this is something of a rewrite, it is my story so I will be putting my own spin on the idea and some things will be quite different once things get going.
> 
> Happy Pokémon Day everyone! To help celebrate the franchise's 25th anniversary, I have decided it was time to post this story here on AO3 in addition to FF.net. So please just sit back and enjoy the story.

Grace Yvonne sat upon her semi-comfortable bed in the maternity ward of Lumiose General Hospital reflecting on the past and contemplating the future as she waited for the doctors to give tiny little Serena the all-clear. It was certainly a surprise when that pregnancy test came back positive all those months ago, though it explained all those weird cravings and her frequent bouts of nausea in the mornings. The revelation quickly triggered a whirlwind of emotions inside her. At first, she was terrified at the thought of being a mother, then she was furious at the man who was careless enough to impregnate her by accident. However, once both had passed she had, to her surprise found herself overjoyed. She was going to be a mom and she couldn't wait to teach her child how to be a Rhyhorn racer just like her.

That was all months ago. Currently, it was only six short hours since she had had her little girl and she was already looking towards the future and thus was continuing her search for a new home. While Lumiose City was great and all, it was home to her ex, plus the highly urbanized environment would present a bit of a problem when it came time to start Serena on her Rhyhorn race training. Besides, she always had this idea that a nice, quiet, friendly little place in the country would be perfect to raise her child.

Meanwhile, a tiny bird Pokémon flew in the open hospital room window. "Fletchling," the tiny robin chirped in an attempt to get the attention of her trainer as she perched herself on the bedside table. Clearly, the little bird's attempt was successful as Grace smiled at her right before she began to pet the Flying-type.

Grace moved to show the tiny robin a photo of a house that had recently come onto the market which she was considering. "What do you think about moving to Vaniville Town, Fletchling? It's nice and small, there's plenty of open space for you to fly and the nearby wild Pokémon are supposed to be quite friendly."

The small Flying-type jumped up and took a quick lap around the room before landing on Grace's shoulder excited about the idea. "Fletch, Fletchling!" the little bird chirped happily.

Grace scratched her Pokémon under the chin, a warm smile on her face, "That settles it then. We're moving to Vaniville Town." Grace couldn't wait to take Serena with her to their new home.

However, her thoughts of a new home in the country for her new daughter were cut short when the doctor walked in with a grave look upon his face, causing Grace to fear the worst when he stated "Ms. Yvonne, I'm afraid I have some terrible news."

Grace's heart sank as her fear gave way to panic and desperation, "Please tell me Serena is alright!" While there had been no complications during the delivery itself, Grace had admittingly been getting a little worried as six hours did seem like a rather long time for a newborn's health assessment, but for the last few hours she had chalked it up as a precaution thanks to her daughter's paternal family, though she had no idea how they could possibly know about that as she had taken precautions to keep her ex out of the picture the last couple of months.

The tiny robin Pokémon sensed her trainer's distress and spoke up, hoping it wasn't anything serious, "Fletch, Fletchling?"

The doctor looked away clearly trying to find the right way to break the news. "I'm sorry Ms. Yvonne, but Serena..." The doctor paused momentarily as his nerves began to fail him, but knowing that the information he had needed to be shared, he forged on with an apologetic tone, "We don't believe she will make it till morning."

Grace froze at those words, unable to process what she just heard. Fletchling however was quicker on the uptake and quickly began to tear up as the tiny robin Pokémon couldn't believe what she was hearing herself. "Fletchling..." The little Pokémon was almost as heartbroken as her trainer was about to be.

Finally, as the weight of the news hit her, Grace's already sinking heart shattered. She had only just become a mother, but now… "There has to be something you can do! Oh Arceus, please tell me there's something you can do!" Grace begged, tears forming in her eyes.

The doctor averted his eyes, no longer able to meet hers. Telling a young first-time mother that she was about to lose her newborn daughter was never going to be easy, "I am sorry, but there is nothing we can do." He went on to describe exactly what was wrong with Serena but all Grace could process was that her daughter would be gone in just six short hours.

"No, oh Arceus please no…" At that point what little emotional strength she had left abandoned her as she broke down sobbing, but she wasn't alone in her grief as Fletchling was crying right alongside her trainer at the impending loss of her daughter.

A strange entity moved silently through the Kalosian capital, its mind preoccupied with reminiscing the event that had just wrapped up. Once every decade or so a handful of Legendary and Mythical Pokémon, as the humans called them, got together to keep each other up-to-date on global events. While most humans would certainly be awestruck at the sight of so many Myths and Legends in one place, the truth was it was usually nothing more than an informal gathering of some really old friends, generally, it was in truth a rather boring affair. Near the end, however, a few interesting things were brought up. Kyogre had mentioned a very recent incident between one of the more obscure female Myths and a human male while Cobalion had announced that the Swords of Justice had discovered a potential new Legend and thus had begun training him. Both events were so extraordinarily rare that several of them had started to talk about champions and potential successors, but the entity wasn't interested in them since it didn't require either of those things and saw no reason that should change.

As the entity let its mind wander, it thought of something else. It could sense that a time of great turmoil was coming and coming soon, and if the world was not prepared to deal with it then, one way or another in little more than a decade it would be the end of everything. The entity brought itself back to reality to check its bearings and realized that while lost in thought it had wandered into what appeared to be a hospital. A place of healing that humans went to when sick or injured, much in the way a Pokémon Center healed Pokémon including the entity itself once upon a time. The entity paused when it heard the crying of a human female coming from the room to its left. On a whim, it decided to see what was causing such distress in a place meant to save lives.

As the entity entered, it saw a tiny Fletchling asleep on the bedside table clearly having cried herself to sleep. In a hospital bed was the human female the entity had heard crying. She was holding an infant, a female, no more than half a day old close to her as she slowly cried herself to sleep just as her Pokémon had. The entity could feel the overwhelming grief, the utter despair coming from the human mother.

Positioning itself next to the Fletchling, the entity immediately understood why the woman was crying, _'The young one is not long for this world,'_ the entity thought solemnly, with its senses it could practically see the child's life slowly slip away. _'How cruel it is that no sooner as you enter this world you must also leave it. I am sorry, little one,'_ It focused on the mother before turning to the infant, _'At least you should know your mother loves you.'_

Just as it was about to leave, the entity stopped. Returning to its previous position next to the tiny Flying-type the entity focused its attention back on the infant as a strange sensation came over it. Feeling the child's life force holding on by a thread. Despite being too young to truly comprehend her surroundings she was fighting for her life with a truly exceptional display of strength, sadly it was a futile effort and if the entity waited just a few more minutes she would be gone.

And yet…

Reaching out to the child, the entity remembered the conversation from before about champions and successors, _'Perhaps the others were onto something'_ it thought focusing on the emotions that had come over it… plus with what it knew was coming perhaps it might be best to stack the deck in the world's favor as much as possible.

With its mind made up, as the last bit of life started to leave the child an outside source of energy primal in nature latched on and held it back. _'It is not your time, young one.'_ With that, the entity poured more of its energy into the child, pulling her back from the grip of death.

The entity gave a tired sigh as it left the room. What it had just done was practically unheard of, true they could use their power to save those who are dying, but this child was so far gone that the entity had to permanently infuse its own energy directly into her very being. This had never before been done and there was no telling what would come about from this, but the entity regretted nothing.

Somehow, it knew that it had made the right choice with the girl. The entity could feel that she would be instrumental in protecting the world from the devastating future it had sensed both directly and indirectly through as of yet did not know-how. It looked forward to seeing how she developed in the days and years to come. Taking one final look back, the entity left the building and vanished into the dead of night.

The next morning, Grace looked at the stunned doctors, the reason for their reaction was obvious and smiling happily in her arms, Serena had not only made it through the night but was now perfectly healthy. The doctors, apparently broken could only stare in disbelief. "How… how?" One of them finally asked after a few moments of silence. A perfectly understandable question considering that until now no child had ever survived the condition that Serena had had and not only did Grace's daughter survive but was now free of any detectable medical problems whatsoever.

Grace however did not care one bit, she was simply overjoyed that her daughter was alive and well after being so close to death. "I don't know and to tell the truth, right now I really don't care," Grace admitted as tears of joy threatened to overwhelm her.

"Fletchling ling, Fletch!" The tiny robin cried happily as she hoped to greet the baby. Serena for her part looked at the tiny Pokémon with curious eyes before reaching out, wanting to grab the small Flying-type.

The doctors slowly regained their composure after processing what was in their expert opinion nothing less than a straight-up miracle. "Well, Miss Yvonne, though none of us here have any idea as to how, it seems your daughter has made a full recovery. Normally we would like to keep her here under watch for a few days, but considering what you've been through the last twelve hours and the extent of her recovery, we suppose you can take her home now." The doctors walked out of the room, to talk about this miraculous turn of events.

Grace wasn't all that focused as she cradled her daughter close to her. Serena had just fallen asleep completely oblivious to what she had just gone through. Looking back at her nightstand and the photo of the Vaniville house, Grace smiled.

Serena giggled happily as she chased Fletchling across the yard while Rhyhorn watched. _"I'm gonna get you!"_ Serena exclaimed as she jumped in an attempt to tackle the Flying-type, who flew out of her reach, laughing at the six-year-old. She landed on the bow in Serena's hair as the girl groaned while getting into a sitting position _"No fair, you can fly!"_ She complained causing Fletchling to giggle.

 _"Well, sorry if you don't have wings,"_ A high-pitched feminine voice chirped from the Tiny Robin Pokémon.

Serena rolled her eyes at the Flying-type and demonstrating the logic typical of her age group exclaimed _"Yeah, well, just you wait! I'll sprout wings, you'll see, and then there'll be no way you can fly away from me!"_

No sooner than she said that she heard a small chuckle behind her. _"And I'll learn how to swim next week,"_ a deep yet kind masculine voice spoke as Serena turned to Rhyhorn with her face puffed up in an adorable pout.

 _"I don't see you trying to catch Fletchling,"_ Serena accused as Rhyhorn rolled his eyes and walked up to his trainer's daughter.

 _"Because unlike you, I know better than to take up her challenge."_ he looked at Fletchling. _"She does it on purpose, the little troll."_

Fletchling looked offended at this. _"I do not!"_ Rhyhorn smirked, not falling for this one bit.

As the three continued arguing, Grace watched from the window. It was sad but the truth was until very recently Grace was only able to hear her daughter's voice in old home movies, as Serena had apparently chosen to speak exclusively to Pokémon and thus has not made so much as a sound in front of another human being since she was two and a half as for some reason it seemed that the only ones capable of understanding her were Pokémon.

Grace used to think it was so cute when Serena would get mad at people not understanding her before storming off in a huff, but then she seemed to stop talking altogether until the day she spotted her daughter out of earshot having a rather animated conversation with a wild Ralts she had befriended. Professor Sycamore had once said that Serena appeared to somehow have Pokéspeak as her native tongue and for some reason seemed to have more in common with Pokémon than with other human beings, at least on a psychological level.

A few months ago, the Professor had suggested that Serena should attend Professor Oak's summer camp over in Kanto since it would allow her to interact with kids her age while surrounded by wild Pokémon and though at first Grace was apprehensive about the idea since Serena was effectively mute around humans she eventually went through with it and from what Grace could tell it went spectacularly. Not only did Serena make her first-ever human friend but apparently had been quite upset when it came time to go home, clearly not wanting to leave her new friend. Then just a few days ago for the first time in years, Grace had actually heard Serena's voice when she caught her daughter trying to sound out the words in an old children's book clearly trying to learn how to speak human language, and the other day Serena had even given her an actual handwritten letter to mail back to Kanto which was extremely impressive and very surprising considering how much Serena struggled with anything language-related in school.

Sometimes Grace wished she looked into whatever happened when Serena was born as that would likely explain why her daughter was so unique, but she had long accepted that that opportunity had long since passed, however, it might also explain why every so often she could feel something come by her house. Something that seemed to be almost watching Serena. Now, normally something like that would fill her with fear, especially with how close she had come to nearly losing her child once already, yet… she for some reason couldn't bring herself to be worried. The presence was kind of strangely comforting. The whole thing was rather eerie, to be honest.

Little did Grace know, something was watching Serena at that very moment, but not with any kind of malicious intent. No, it was watching her to ensure that she was safe and ready to take on her role when the time came.

 _'You have already grown so much,'_ the entity that had given the young girl new life mused as it watched the girl trying and failing to climb onto Rhyhorn's back in yet another futile attempt to catch Fletchling. _'I look forward to seeing how far you will go… my dear Sereginia...'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it, the end of the first chapter. Now if you liked that you would likely be happy to hear that not only do I have the next five chapters ready to go but they're all much longer than this one and you can expect them to come out gradually over the course of the next few days, once I reformat them that is. However, I would also like to say that I don't have any kind of set update schedule and thus I have absolutely no idea when the seventh chapter will be ready and it might be a while since I have a lot going on in my life at the moment eating up a lot of my potential writing time. Regardless, this is going to be quite the adventure, so thanks for reading, have a nice day and I hope to see you again soon.


	2. The Adventure Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FF.net Release Date: 02-02-2020  
> AO3 Release Date: 03-01-2021
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any other franchise which I may or may not use. I only own the fanmade Pokémon included in this story and even then I am using the name and base concept of "Sereginia" with permission of the author of "United Destiny: The Hero and the Hybrid", however, while this is something of a rewrite, it is my story so I will be putting my own spin on the idea and some things will be quite different once things get going.

A calm breeze was blowing throughout Vaniville Town as the small community awoke to the heat of the warm summer sun. Fletchling came flying into the Yvonne household, landing on the kitchen counter as she watched Grace clean the greens she would be using to make dinner later that night. Grace turned to the Pokémon, a bit annoyed. "That girl, I told her to wake up early or she'll be late." She sighed. "Fletchling, mind waking her up again?"

The Tiny Robin Pokémon gave her trainer a happy chirp before jumping off and flying through the house and up the stairs, landing in front of Serena's bedroom door. With a bit of a push, the Flying-type managed to squeeze through the tiny crack in the door. Jumping into the air, the Flying-type gently landed atop the sleeping ten-year-old girl. Fletchling said nothing as she pulled back and delivered a single hard Peck to her face. Immediately after, a loud scream broke the calm of both the house and the whole town. "AHHH! I TOLD YOU TO STOP DOING THAT!"

The nearby Flying-types flew off as Rhyhorn turned his head up towards Serena's window. The Ground and Rock-type rolled his eyes in mild amusement. _"I told her she shouldn't have stayed up so late."_

Fletchling landed on the small Poké ball-shaped table as Serena fell off the side of her bed and onto the floor with a distinctly ungraceful thud. The honey-haired girl pulled herself up and glared at the Tiny Robin Pokémon. _"Your mom said I should wake you,"_ Fletchling tried to defend herself. But as that wasn't much of a defense Serena's glare didn't falter in the slightest, so Fletchling tried a different approach. _"You know what today is, right?"_

Serena stopped as she recalled the date. "I almost overslept!" Serena jumped up and quickly started tearing through her closet, desperately looking for a suitable outfit. As she was doing this, Fletchling flew out of the room and came back downstairs landing next to Grace.

The former Rhyhorn Racer placed a small bowl of Pokémon food in front of the small Flying-type. "Thanks for getting Serena up." Fletchling didn't wait to dig into her food.

A few minutes later, Serena came racing down the stairs with two hats in her hands. "Mom, which hat goes best with this outfit?"

Grace looked at the two hats and then at her daughter's outfit. She was wearing a dark gray tank top with a white collar, a red pleated skirt, dark gray stockings, and a pair of black hi-tops. "The red one," Grace said pointing to the hat in Serena's right hand.

Serena quickly tossed it aside. One thing about her mother was that she had terrible fashion sense. "Right, the pink one it is," Serena said putting on said pink hat, paired with a black ribbon and hatband.

Grace rolled her eyes at her daughter's antics. "Why did you even ask me if you already knew which one you wanted?"

"So I'd know which one doesn't match," Serena explained to her mother. Catching a glimpse of the clock, her eyes widened as she realized how close she was to being late. "Sorry Mom, I've got to get going!" the ten-year-old quickly grabbed a bag off the counter and raced out of the house.

Grace ran out past the gate, waving at her daughter as she shouted to her. "Bye honey, tell Sycamore I said hi!"

Serena waved back to her mom shouting back, "Don't worry, I will!"

Grace stood outside the gate as she watched her now ten-year-old daughter head off to go get her first official Pokémon from Professor Sycamore. "Time sure does fly." Walking back into the house, she noticed that instead of the bagged breakfast Grace made for her, Serena had instead taken a bag of Pokémon food and Grace knew immediately that rather than being a simple mistake, it was a deliberate choice on her daughter's part. Though considering that Serena was in a lot of ways effectively a Pokémon in human form a mere four years ago, it was a little understandable but it still left Grace somewhat exasperated. "I swear, that girl eats more Pokémon food than human food."

"Fletchling, Fletch." The tiny robin agreed with her trainer, who like just about everyone else was completely unaware of exactly how Pokémon-like Serena truly was.

Serena reached into the bag and tossed a handful of Pokémon food into her mouth, enjoying the flavor. For a brief moment, she could hear her mother commenting on her strange eating habits. Most varieties of Pokémon food were completely safe for humans to eat, though the Steel and Poison brands were known to cause stomach problems. However, they were never made with humans in mind, and just about anyone would tell you how awful they taste. Anyone except Serena that is.

Serena actually loved the taste of Pokémon food, especially the Fairy-type variety. In fact, she generally preferred it over most human foods. 'At least it's cheaper,' Serena thought to herself as she finished the bag, tossing it into a trash can at the edge of town. Once that was done, the ten-year-old picked up the pace as she concentrated on running, feeling a familiar energy rising up inside of her. "OK, three, two, one…"

A white aura seemed to surround her as Serena took off at speeds far faster than a human should be capable of, in what any trainer would instantly recognize as a Quick Attack if Serena allowed them more than a fleeting glance. The honey-haired girl was almost a blur to those she passed as she raced along the path to Lumiose City. This was something she hadn't shared with her mother. No one outside Fletchling, Rhyhorn, and a few of her wild Pokémon friends, like Ralts knew about this. Anyone else would consider what she was doing to be completely impossible. For Serena however, it felt, well, to her it felt normal. Talking to Pokémon, eating Pokémon food, and running at speeds only a Pokémon should be able to match. It all felt normal to her.

As the honey-haired girl raced by, she was unaware that something was watching her. _'Seems her powers are developing rather slowly.'_ the entity that had saved her life all those years ago pondered for a moment. Ever since the day it gave her a part of itself, the entity had watched its new daughter from afar, making sure that she was safe and happy in human society, a world in which she never truly belonged, and it would continue to watch over her until the time came for her to shed her mortal coil and assume her true identity, or when the world ends, whichever comes first.

However, the former was still a ways off at the rate Primal Energy was currently building up within her, and the latter hopefully never happens, but all of that was in the future and the entity returned its attention to the present. Ever since it became clear that Serena could speak to Pokémon, her mother had been in contact with Professor Sycamore. The researcher was amazed at the girl's miraculous ability to speak the language of Pokémon and confused by her initial inability to speak to humans in their own language. Regardless, the Professor had become a family friend and had even invited Serena to come and pick out a starter Pokémon on her tenth birthday.

_'That reminds me, I have something I need to get.'_ With that said, the entity disappeared deeper into the forest.

Serena's enchanted sprint slowed a bit as she approached Lumiose City. She continued to race through the city, though at a more human but still extremely fast speed, trying her best to avoid running into the various passersby. Rounding a corner, however, she crashed right into someone, knocking over both her and whoever it was she ran into. "Oh, sorry, I should have paid more attention," Serena apologized, looking at who she had run into.

It turned out not to be one person, but rather two. One was a boy around her age, though he seemed a bit on the short end, with messy yellow-blonde hair and sky blue eyes mostly obscured by his large round glasses. He was wearing a blue full-body jumpsuit with yellow accents and had a strange backpack-like contraption on his back. "It's quite alright," he assured her.

Serena helped him up, and suddenly found the second person, a younger girl in her face. She also had sky blue eyes and yellow-blonde hair, though neatly tied up in a side ponytail, and was wearing a brown short-sleeved top with a soft black bow on the neckline, knee-length black compression shorts covered by a puffy white skirt resembling a cloud. Over her shoulder was a small orange mouse-like Pokémon, a Dedenne to be exact, riding in it. "Oh, my, you're a keeper! Please take care of my brother!" She beseeched the confused Serena.

_"Pretty please!"_ the Dedenne added with his cute high pitched voice.

Serena didn't know how to respond to this. "Wha...?" Did this girl and her Dedenne seriously just ask her to take care of her brother? The boy she crashed into went beet red after hearing this, and with the push of a button, a long metal Aipom-like arm came out of his strange-backpack-thing and picked the little girl up by the back of her neck to face him.

"Bonnie, I told you a million times to stop doing that!" The boy turned to Serena with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry about my little sister, I keep telling her not to do that."

Serena couldn't help but giggle at this. After the moment of shock and confusion wore off, she thought it was cute that Bonnie cared enough for her brother to try and get him a girlfriend. If it was a boy who tried that Serena was sure he would be hit over the head for being a pervert at the very least, but hey that's double standards for you. "Oh, it's alright, I'm Serena, Serena Yvonne."

"My name's Bonnie Citron, and this is my brother Clemont." Bonnie reached into her bag and pulled out the small Pokémon. "And this is Dedenne."

"Hi, Serena, it's nice to meet you," Clemont added politely while the Antenna Pokémon waved at her happily.

"It's nice to meet you all." Serena gave the trio a smile before remembering, "Oh no, I'm going to be late to see Professor Sycamore!" Serena was about to take off when Bonnie, now freed, grabbed onto her arm.

"Wait, you're going to see the Professor, too? Mind if we tag along?" Bonnie asked with cute begging eyes.

Serena smiled at her. "Not at all, come on let's go." The ten-year-old once again took off like a rocket, but this time at a pace that would ensure that at least one of the siblings was able to keep up.

A few minutes later, Serena walked into the lab's lobby with Bonnie following close behind. "Hello, Professor Sycamore?!" Serena yelled into the building. They waited a few minutes for someone to come by and eventually the door behind them opened as Clemont finally walked in, short of breath.

Bonnie turned to her brother, annoyed. "What took you so long? You were going to miss the Professor!" Her brother just flopped on the ground pathetically, doing a pretty good impression of a Magikarp out of water… or just a Magikarp in general for that matter.

Then a rather menacing Pokémon that resembled something of a cross between a large anthropomorphic shark, a fighter jet, and a dragon entered the room. The draconic Pokémon saw Serena and gave her its version of a happy smile and spoke, its voice sounding surprisingly motherly and calm to the honey-haired girl's ears despite its intimidating appearance. _"Serena dear, it's wonderful to see you again."_ The Pokémon, evidently a female, gave her a hug with its fin-like arms, which Serena happily returned.

"Nice to see you too, Garchomp." Serena and Garchomp broke the hug as Serena looked behind the Dragon and Ground-type for her trainer. "Where's the Professor?"

_"Oh, Sycamore? He's busy trying to keep the latest Chespin from eating everything in the kitchen."_ Garchomp giggled a bit as she recalled the scene in question, _"He kept asking for Alain to help even though he left a week ago on his research trip."_

"Well, mom told him to get another assistant, there's way too much work here for just two people to handle, let alone one." Serena had known Alain for a while now. Out of everyone who knew, he was the most skeptical of the fact that she could speak to Pokémon. It ultimately took a rather embarrassing secret from his Charmander for him to finally accept that she could.

"Wait, why are you acting like you can understand what Garchomp is saying?" Serena turned to Clemont and Bonnie and looked at the older sibling. Serena was a bit embarrassed by this, as she usually wasn't one to flaunt her abilities in public like that.

"Oh, that's because she can, and I should tell you it's quite remarkable." Professor Sycamore walked into the lobby, his outfit covered in bits of food from the kitchen. "Hello, Serena, it's good to see you again. I trust your mother is doing well?"

"She sure is. Oh, she wanted me to tell you she said hi." Serena gave the Professor a smile as the revelation that Serena could understand Pokémon started to set into the two siblings' minds.

Clemont was the most amazed by this and was having trouble believing that it was true. "That can't be. How can someone just understand what Pokémon are saying?!"

Sycamore had a light chuckle at this "Clemont, my boy, it's good to see you and Bonnie again, and as for your question..." Sycamore looked at Serena before he sighed. "To be honest, in this case, I'm really not sure and it's something I have been studying in my spare time. There are a few known methods for speaking with Pokémon. For instance, human psychics gifted with telepathy have been known to be able to detect and translate the thoughts and feelings of Pokémon and there are ancient legends in Kanto and Sinnoh of people who could do it using their aura, but Serena here is different. Somehow, she can understand their language directly."

Serena felt a bit embarrassed as everyone looked at her. She rubbed the back of her neck a little mareepishly for a moment, then Bonnie practically shoved Dedenne into her face. "Oh, oh, oh, can you please tell me what Dedenne is saying, please?" Forgetting in her excitement that the Antenna Pokémon hasn't said anything since they entered the lab.

"Slow down, Bonnie, slow down." Sycamore leaned down to the little girl, "Serena came all this way for something, so why don't we let her do what she came here for first?" the Professor stood up again and waved his arm as three small Pokémon came forward.

The first was a blue frog-like Pokémon with its eyes extending off its head and a coat of white bubbles around its neck and back. Next was the Pokémon that Sycamore had trouble with a while ago. It was bipedal and looked like a hedgehog in a way. It had a light brown front and dark brown arms. On its back and head were a green shell and quills coming from the top of its head. The last was quadrupedal and looked like a fox. Its fur was yellow with red puffs coming from its ears and at the tip of its tail along with a white muzzle.

The three lined up as Sycamore stood to the side. "Well Serena, I have three Pokémon for you to choose for your starter." His arm outstretched to the frog-like Water-type on the right. "We have Froakie," then to the hedgehog-like Grass-type in the middle "Chespin," and finally the fox-like Fire-type on the left "and Fennekin." Professor Sycamore smiled at Serena. "Go ahead and take your time, maybe even talk with them a little."

Serena nodded, though to be honest, she did already have a preference. Leaning down with a smile, she greeted the three starters. "Hello, I'm Serena, it's nice to meet you all."

_"Whatever"_ was Froakie's response with a dismissive tone to his voice, which Serena quickly took note of.

_"Hey, are you good at cooking?"_ Chespin asked with a carefree voice and a smile, evidently, the little guy thought mainly with his stomach.

_"Hello, I like your hat, it's very pretty."_ Fennekin greeted while admiring Serena's outfit, her tone kind yet formal with a hint of regality to her voice.

Serena had a tiny bit of pride after hearing that. "Oh, thank you, Fennekin, it's something I made myself." This didn't go unnoticed by the three Pokémon who all blinked for a moment in surprise.

_"Wow, she can understand us!"_ Chespin's excitement caused Froakie to roll his eyes.

_"Oh please, she just made a lucky guess. Humans can't understand what we're saying."_ Froakie's words and attitude were more than enough for Serena to dismiss him instantly.

"I'll have you know that I can understand each one of you," Serena affirmed before giving the Bubble Frog Pokémon a light glare. "Also, you should know that there are people and Pokémon with psychic powers who can communicate via telepathy." Serena lectured, causing Froakie to turn away with a frown not really liking her, and the feeling was mutual.

Chespin raised a paw in question. _"So he's out of the running?"_ Fennekin wasn't surprised at this. She'd been at the lab for a while now and had twice seen Froakie be picked only to return after a very short time, having disliked both trainers who picked him. Froakie hopped out of the room before he could even hear Serena's answer, mumbling about this.

"He kinda wasn't in the running," Serena admitted to the two remaining Pokémon. "I actually had a choice in mind before coming here."

Chespin got all happy and proud at those words, but then Serena picked up Fennekin, destroying his moment of triumph. "What do you say, Fennekin, want to come with me?"

Fennekin had a huge smile on her face. _"Yes! Of course, I'll come with you."_

Sycamore had a smile on his face as well, as he saw this. "Well then, congratulations, Serena." the Professor handed her a Poké Ball. "Here's her Poké Ball, and I will get your Pokédex in a moment along with your first five Poké Balls." Professor Sycamore walked into the next room as Garchomp carried Chespin, frozen in shock out of the room.

Serena put Fennekin down as she looked at the Poké Ball. Bonnie seemed to jump up as the young girl started to shoot questions at her. "So, you're a new trainer then?! Are you going to take on the Kalos League?! Are you going to give Fennekin a nickname?!"

Serena couldn't help but smile at Bonnie. In truth, she was wondering whether she should even put Fennekin in her Poké Ball in the first place and the girl's questions pushed those thoughts from her head. "Well, yeah, I'm a new trainer. I mean, I came to Professor Sycamore to get my starter." Serena shrunk the Poké Ball in her hands before answering the rest. "I don't know about participating in the League, though. I am planning on heading back home first to introduce Fennekin to my mom and see if any of my Pokémon friends there want to come along with me. After that, I'm not really sure."

It was then that Serena realized that she didn't have a solid plan on what she was going to do. Sure she had several ideas, but nothing even remotely concrete. Perhaps she could head off to explore Glimwood Tangle in Galar, visit her cousin in Unova, do some contests in Hoenn or maybe even head back to Kanto to see… _Him_. A blush came over her as she thought about the boy from summer camp all those years ago. She had never so much as said a word aloud in front of him, let alone to him, yet they still became very close over those two weeks, and ever since they have been exchanging letters to keep in touch.

_"I guess you could give me a nickname if you'd like."_ Fennekin's words broke her from her thoughts.

"Oh, okay then. Ah, how about…" She thought of a name for a moment.

Professor Sycamore, however, chose that moment to return, carrying a tray with him. "Okay, here are your five starter Poké Balls and your new Pokédex." He picked up the small electronic device. "Now I just need to scan you so it can register you as its holder and act as your Trainer's license." Pointing the 'dex at her, the advanced device did something that no one was expecting.

"Unknown Pokémon, no data available."

Professor Sycamore raised an eyebrow at this. The Pokédex seemed to be attempting to scan Serena as a Pokémon. Chalking it up as a glitch, he typed a few things in hopes of having the glitch corrected before scanning Serena again.

"Unknown Pokémon, no data available."

Clemont looked at the device as his mind raced with possibilities as to why it kept thinking that Serena was a Pokémon. "Hmm, perhaps the problem is a programming error? A few Pokédexes of this model end up having an error where they occasionally have problems scanning a target Pokémon, typically mistaking them for a completely different Pokémon or even a human, it's not unreasonable to assume that the inverse is happening here."

The Professor thought about what the young man had suggested and figured it made sense. He had to send out a few patches for Pokédexes whenever programming errors or other glitches were discovered. "Makes sense. Hmm, I'll have to turn off the Pokémon scanning function for a moment, maybe that would help."

Tapping in the code to disable the feature, he tried it once again. "Scan complete. This Pokédex is registered to Serena Yvonne of Vaniville Town." the Pokédex responded, finally working the way the Professor expected. A few more taps on the keypad restored the functions on the 'dex to clear up any bugs it may have.

"Well then, now that that's settled, here is your Pokédex. I helped make this model myself." Sycamore rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed by the glitch. "I'll be sure to give it the patch by the end of the day, so no worries about it confusing a Fletchling with a Moltres. I trust that your license profile is accurate?"

Wanting to make sure that nothing else went wrong with the high-tech Pokémon Index, Serena opened up her Trainer's license and quickly read through the profile.

Name: Serena Yvonne  
Mother: Grace Yvonne  
Father: N/A  
Age: 10  
Gender: Female  
Eyes: Blue  
Hair: Blonde  
Height: 4 ft 7 in/137.7 cm  
Weight: 78.2 lbs/35.5 kg  
Date of Birth: May 28, 1997 GSC/2984 KC  
Place of Birth: Lumiose City, Central Kalos  
Place of Residence: Vaniville Town, Central Kalos  
Citizenship: The Crowned Republic of Kalos  
Trainer Level: Beginner  
Trainer Class: Basic Trainer  
Registered Pokémon: 1  
Current Party: 1/6  
1.) Fennekin

"Yep, everything looks good." Though her father wasn't listed on her profile, it wasn't anything to be concerned about, as her mother had made it a point to keep her father out of the picture. His name wasn't even listed on Serena's birth certificate, and the man didn't even know he had a daughter until Serena was four and that was only because she and her mother just happened to run into him by chance on a trip to Lumiose City. Since then, Serena had only met him a few other times and never for very long, primarily because her mom wanted nothing to do with the man anymore, though Serena never knew why.

Professor Sycamore nodded and turned to Bonnie and Clemont. "Okay, so what can I help the two of you with?"

Bonnie pulled out Dedenne to show to the Professor. "My brother caught me Dedenne to take care of a month ago." Dedenne was then put back in her bag and judging from the sounds the little guy was making had promptly fallen asleep. "Then dad told me that I could get a Junior Trainer's license, so I wanted to come by and get one."

Sycamore nodded in understanding. "That can be arranged, though you do know that Kalosian law requires an endorsement from an Expert Level Trainer." the Professor looked at Clemont, giving the boy a knowing look. "So, I take it she has the official endorsement of the Lumiose City Gym Leader?"

"Yeah." Clemont was still a bit unsure about this, but Bonnie really wanted to be a trainer, and after their dad let it slip about the Junior license, something the King had only just given the official consent for two weeks ago following a rather tense vote in Parliament on the subject, and as it was fully legal Clemont knew that there wasn't any real reason to say no.

Serena blinked in surprise. "Wait, you're the Lumiose City Gym Leader?"

Professor Sycamore gave Serena a nod. "Not only that, but he's also a bit of an inventor, I've seen a few of his inventions myself." Clemont had a bit of pride at hearing this, though Bonnie just rolled her eyes and delivered a healthy dose of reality to the boy genius.

"Yeah, the ones that didn't explode in our faces." Her deadpan tone instantly crushing her big brother's ego boost by reminding him of his overwhelming number of failures.

A few hours later in one of Lumiose City's many Pokémon Centers, the three newly made friends took a little time to talk about themselves and their dreams. Well, Clemont and Bonnie's dreams, mostly. Clemont wanted to be a famous inventor, but as Bonnie kept pointing out, not only did an alarming number of his inventions explode, he was terrible at names. Clemont tried to dismiss this, but Bonnie started listing off a few of the increasingly ridiculous names he had come up with in just the past month until he begged her to stop. Bonnie, on the other hand, wanted to travel across the world and become friends with every Pokémon.

"You both seem so set on your goals." Serena's comment caused her to think about her own goals or lack thereof as she brushed Fennekin's fur.

"Hey, don't worry; I'm sure you'll find something for yourself." Clemont gave her a friendly smile.

"Oh, oh, oh, maybe you can travel with us?" Bonnie turned to her brother with pleading eyes for a moment before turning back to Serena "I want to explore the world and make a lot of friends, you should come with me and my brother!"

"Bonnie, you know I have a Gym to run," Clemont protested to his younger sister.

Bonnie shook her head at this excuse. It might have worked in the past, but there was something that she could counter with. "Come on Clemont, you can just leave the Gym in Clem-bot's hands, right?!"

Clemont was taken aback by his sister. He had indeed gotten approval by the League to use his robot double as a substitute on the off chance he was too busy or was away from the Gym for whatever reason. "Well, yes, but…"

Bonnie would have none of his excuses, pointing at his face, "No buts, there's no reason you can't take me on a journey. You also need to get out of that Gym more often." Bonnie waved her arm out at Serena. "Besides, you need to get Serena to fall in love with you!"

Clemont's face again turned red out of pure embarrassment upon hearing his little sister's declaration. "Bonnie, please stop." the boy begged the girl.

Fennekin couldn't decide whether to giggle at the scene or rolling her eyes. True, it was adorable that a younger sibling would be trying to get her brother a girlfriend, but it just seemed silly at how easily she was taking control. Serena, however, was a bit annoyed by this. She already had a boy that she liked, true she hasn't seen him in close to four years, but the point still stands. "Bonnie, look, I think it's sweet and adorable that you're trying to get your brother a wife," She started sweetly before she got much more serious, "and I think your brother is probably a wonderful person, but the thing is, I already have someone I like." She finished with a slight blush on her face.

"Oh, alright, sorry." Bonnie's mood soured a bit, but Serena gave her a kind smile.

"Don't worry Bonnie, I'll still travel with the two of you," Serena reassured the younger girl.

Bonnie was hopeful after hearing this. "Really?" Serena nodded, causing the girl's brief moment of sadness to turn into excitement.

"Excuse me." The three turned to Nurse Joy and her Wigglytuff, which had a box in its arms. The nurse had a note in her hands as she turned to the honey-haired girl. "You are Serena, correct?" Serena nodded as Wigglytuff handed her the box. "This was found just outside the Pokémon Center, with a note addressed to you." Nurse Joy handed Serena the note.

Perplexed, Serena opened the note and read what was rather poorly yet still legibly written on it. 'Happy Birthday, Serena. I hope your journey makes you stronger and wiser in the coming years. Within the box is a gift, which is long overdue. Signed, your Father.'

Serena was confused by this. She had already received her father's gift, a collection of rare Poké Balls which arrived in the mail a few days ago, he had made a point of sending her something each year, and yet the word choice in the note made it seem like she hadn't received a gift from him in several years, if ever. Regardless, Serena accepted the gift, and politely said "Thank you both."

"My pleasure." Nurse Joy gave a bow.

_"If you need anything else, just ask."_ Wigglytuff joined the nurse as both of them left the group.

The small Fox Pokémon looked at the box and the letter with curiosity. _"Who's it from?"_ Fennekin asked as Serena turned to her and closed the note.

"I have no idea." She opened up the box and pulled out a beautiful handcrafted silver necklace, it resembled a large key, subtly engraved down the shaft in the ancient script of the Unown were a series of nine letters S, E, R, E, G, I, N, I and A, and prominently displayed in the key's handle was a small marble-like stone with a symbol resembling a segment of DNA within its center. "A Key Stone?" Serena was familiar with this object. After all, Sycamore specialized in Pokémon Evolution and had been studying this in particular.

Clemont looked at the stone in the necklace, recalling that Diantha, the Elite Four, and a few of his fellow Gym Leaders each had one. "Wait, isn't that one part of what's needed for Mega Evolution?" Serena nodded as she looked at the ornate pendant in her hands, that was now apparently hers.

"It is." Serena was lost for words at the gift. She didn't know why anyone would give her something like this.

As they left the Center, a breeze flowed through her hair in the sunset sky. Another breeze kicked by and for the faintest of moments, Serena thought she could feel a faint presence. When she glanced around, however, there was nobody but herself and her companions.

"What is it, Serena?" Fennekin asked in concern.

"Did you just feel-" Serena began but shook her head. "Never mind. It was probably nothing."

Her mysterious benefactor, who most certainly was not nothing, smiled as it watched Serena and her new friends walking away. _'I'm sure you will make good use of that gift, my darling Sereginia…'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go chapter two. The reformatting I needed to do to make sure all the Pokéspeach was properly italicized took a lot longer than I had expected so it might take longer than I had initially planned to get all six chapters that I currently have out on this site. Anyway, now that that is out of the way I feel I should explain a few things about this chapter.
> 
> When it comes to how Serena's benefactor got the necklace, well, he simply arranged for a Key Stone to be given to a skilled jeweler with a set of instructions on exactly what he wanted and precisely where he wanted the final product to be delivered, along with a large number of precious stones as payment for the crafter's work.
> 
> Now as for the two different years listed on Serena's birthdate, in this setting, every region apart from the first two have their own local calendar, but at the same time to avoid confusion, there exists a calendar that everyone uses for interregional affairs. Year 0 in the "Kalosian Calendar" is set at the founding of Kalos, but in the "Global Standard Calendar", Year 0 is set at the treaty between Kanto and Johto which created the calendar, however back then it was known as the "Kanto-Johto Interregional Calendar" until it was renamed once everyone started using it. In the Kalosian Calendar, Serena was born in the year 2984 but in the Global Standard Calendar, her birth year is listed as 1997, which was chosen simply because it was halfway between the Japanese and English releases of Gen I and it allows the main story, when Serena is almost 16, to take place in the year 2013, which is, of course, the release of Gen VI.
> 
> Finally, there are a total of five Trainer Levels: "Beginner", "Rookie", "Proficient", "Advanced" and "Expert". Typically, you start as a "Beginner" and become a "Rookie" by either winning a Gym Badge, passing the first round of an official competition (Battle Tournament, Contest, Showcase, etc.), or entering two such competitions of the same type. After that, there are numerous ways you can increase your trainer level, for example, Ash went from "Rookie" straight to "Advanced" by beating the Orange League and moved onto "Expert" after beating Brandon and his Regice.
> 
> Anyway thanks for reading, have a nice day and I hope to see you again soon.


	3. The Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FF.net Release Date: 02-29-2020  
> AO3 Release Date: 03-03-2021
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any other franchise which I may or may not use. I only own the fanmade Pokémon included in this story and even then I am using the name and base concept of "Sereginia" with permission of the author of "United Destiny: The Hero and the Hybrid", however, while this is something of a rewrite, it is my story so I will be putting my own spin on the idea and some things will be quite different once things get going.

A crisp morning fog filled the air as a boat crossed the calm waters of Sinnoh, its destination, Lily of the Valley Island, just a little over the horizon. At the bow of the ship stood Serena, now fifteen years old, looking out through the mist at the aquatic Pokémon that occasionally swam by the ship. With her were her friends and traveling companions, including Clemont, still a bit short for his age, who kept having to rub the fog off his glasses. Each time he did though, they fogged up again within seconds, making the whole thing pointless.

"I told you to get contacts." Next to Clemont was his sister Bonnie, sporting Serena's old outfit, minus the hat. It had gotten a bit small and instead of throwing it away, Bonnie wanted it and Serena was all too happy to give it to her.

"I told you, they itch whenever I put them in." Clemont protested as Serena just giggled. The siblings' antics always seemed to lighten her mood. Serena went back into thought before pulling out a case from her backpack. Opening it, she saw her eight Sinnoh Gym Badges, looking them over for a moment.

 _"You getting nervous?"_ A regal feminine voice asked. Serena turned to see that Braixen had walked on deck. The bipedal fox who had evolved from her Fennekin about three years ago could read her partner like a glove, a benefit of knowing her trainer longer than any of Serena's Pokémon apart from Gardevoir.

"A bit. I mean, I know I've done a lot of battling in these past few years, but never like this." Serena thought back to the last few years, they had traveled across parts of Kalos and Galar before they went to Unova. It was there that she started getting into battles with the Battle Club and the various tournaments that were held in that region, but until now, the biggest tournament she took part in was the Rookie Division of the Pokémon World Tournament in Driftveil City which had no entry requirements outside being a Rookie Level trainer and there she only managed to reach the quarterfinals, yet here she was a Proficient Level Trainer about to enter the preeminent tournament in the entire Sinnoh region, which is bound to be full of both Advanced and Expert trainers.

She winced for a moment as she remembered what else happened in Unova when she and her friends got caught up with a Pokémon rights extremist group calling themselves Team Plasma. It was where Serena began to question herself and the bond she shared with her Pokémon, which they quickly shot down. They were more than a team, they were like a family. With her beliefs strengthened, she met their leader and surprised him with the fact that she could actually understand Pokémon, and then a bit later, let it slip that she could use Pokémon moves. She nearly destroyed his whole worldview. Then, Reshiram and Zekrom got involved, the true mastermind behind the organization revealed himself and they along with the supposed leader managed to put an end to his insane plot in what the local media had dubbed the Battle of Team Plasma's Castle.

Luckily, their travels through Hoenn and Johto were not nearly as crazy as that mess. She even got into Contests, which she absolutely loved. Yet there seemed to be something missing that she just couldn't quite fathom and then, just before her fifteenth birthday, like on the day she started her journey, and a few other random times throughout her life, a strange box with a note were given to her, this time with a Badge case inside with the note suggesting that she join the Sinnoh League while wishing her both luck and happiness.

Sinnoh had been their most eventful journey since Unova but they always seemed to just miss the really big events. They had passed through Alamos Town, just three days after Palkia had accidentally dragged the entire town into the void between dimensions and had left Michina Town mere hours before Arceus himself made an appearance, however, they did have a notable encounter with a group of weirdos called Team Galactic just outside Eterna City.

 _"Don't worry, we're nervous as well,"_ Braixen said, breaking Serena from her thoughts, remembering what they were talking about the fifteen-year-old raised an eyebrow, not buying what her starter was saying, well, not buying that they were all nervous. _"OK, Ponyta is confident that we'll do fine, Braviary seems convinced that you could win the whole thing using just him and Popplio is so excited we had to spend the past half hour getting her to calm down."_

"She does know she isn't trained for battling, right?" Serena had to suppress the urge to giggle at this. Her little Water-type was always easily excited and it was one of the reasons she loved her.

Braixen rolled her eyes. _"That was the first thing we tried. It took Sylveon wrapping all her feelers around her to finally get her to calm down."_ Braixen turned to Clemont before returning her gaze to her friend and partner. _"Also, Chespin ate all the Poképuffs again."_

Serena facepalmed at this. Clemont looked at her, wondering what it was that Braixen had told her, only for Serena to turn to him and repeat what Braixen had just said so that Clemont could understand, causing him to groan softly in annoyance. Serena turned to Braixen as the boat docked. "Go get the others, we have to sharpen ourselves before it starts."

Braixen nodded before smiling. _"I take it we'll be doing it out of the way of the other Trainers?"_

"Yeah, I'm going to be joining you all and we don't need people spying on us." Braixen caught her trainer's meaning with a nod before racing off to get the others ready. Bonnie walked up to her with a curious look.

"You're going to use that, right?" Bonnie pointed at Serena's chest causing the fifteen-year-old to look down at the ornate silver Key Stone pendant hanging around her neck. She knew what Bonnie was asking. Was she going to use Mega Evolution during the League?

Serena was kind of conflicted about it. From what she gathered, outside of Kalos and to a much lesser extent Hoenn, most hadn't even heard about it, let alone have the means to actually use Mega Evolution. "Maybe, though I want to save it for someone who deserves it," Serena answered as Bonnie nodded in understanding.

Sceptile blinked as he picked up his Poké Ball. The fully evolved Grass-type wondered where Ash was. He was told by Professor Oak that Ash was calling up all his Pokémon for the Sinnoh League, and now he was here, in some unfamiliar forest. _"Hmm, knowing his luck something happened and we got separated."_ As he was deciding whether to wait for his trainer to come and find him or go out to find him himself, he heard what sounded like a Pokémon battle close by.

His curiosity piqued at their potential opponents, Sceptile decided to take a look. Hiding in the bushes, he saw a group of unfamiliar Pokémon training. The closest near him was a small panda-like Pokémon training against an almost equally small unicorn-like Pokémon that very much reminded him of a Ponyta. _"Alright, is that all you got?"_ the panda quipped with a cocky grin.

The weird Ponyta gave the panda a confident smirk. _"Oh, not even close,"_ and before the black and white Pokémon could respond, she let loose a stream of bright technicolor flames from her horn at close range. _"Mystical Fire!"_

The black and white Pokémon was either very quick or had enough experience with this as he took off, literally break dancing out of the way of the colorful flames, clearly marking him as a Pokémon who at least at one point had been trained to compete in Contests.

 _"Hey, watch it!"_ A childlike yet regal voice called out as Sceptile caught sight of a small almost serpentine Pokémon who had just barely managed to avoid the flames. A good thing too, since she was obviously a Grass-type like himself. The unicorn-like Pokémon gave the little Grass-type a mareepish little grin before also giving her apology.

A bit to the left playing in a small pond, he spotted another small Pokémon but this seemed somewhat like a Seel, only leaner and blue. It bounced a bubble on its nose in excitement as a pink and white Pokémon with ribbons that seemed to be a part of it watched the Water-type closely. _'that looks like an evolution of Eevee,'_ he thought.

On the other side, he noticed two humans, a boy and a girl who looked like siblings, watching the Pokémon. Sceptile narrowed his eyes as he spotted a Pokémon that looked a bit like Pikachu on the girl's lap. Next to them were a rabbit-like Pokémon and a brown and green one eating an alarming portion of Pokémon food at an equally alarming rate and resting in front of them was a large feline-like Pokémon.

His gaze wandered until he spotted a bipedal fox sending streams of fire at a red, white and blue eagle-like Pokémon that was flying overhead and dodging with ease, though Sceptile had a feeling that the fox was not putting too much effort into actually aiming at her target and was mostly just testing her maximum range.

Finally, in the back, he spotted a shiny Gardevoir battling something Sceptile couldn't quite see. Edging ever closer, he finally could make out who Gardevoir was facing, and was astounded that it looked to be her trainer, a honey-haired girl around Ash's age. _'What the...'_ Sceptile's thoughts were stopped as he watched the girl gather a ball of pink energy in her hands and fired a Moonblast right at the shiny Gardevoir who then proceeded to nonchalantly block the attack with a Thunderbolt. _"What in Arceus'-"_

Sceptile froze as he felt a presence behind him. Turning around he was met with the single eye of a floating sword with a shield held in front by its two cloth-like arms. _"Mistress Serena, we have an intruder!"_

The living sword's scream was caught by both the unicorn, a Galarian Ponyta who paused a Zen Headbutt and Pancham, the black-and-white panda who stopped a Dark Pulse just moments before firing. At seeing the two of them stop their training, the others turned and soon everyone in the clearing was looking at the fully evolved Hoenn Pokémon. Sceptile cursed under his breath.

"That's enough, Aegislash." The Royal Sword Pokémon floated away to the honey-haired girl's side. The eagle descended and leveled the Forest Pokémon with a glare.

 _"Spying on us, weren't you! Where is your trainer?"_ The Flying-type looked ready for a fight with the Grass-type. However, before he could start anything, the pink and white possible Eeveelution wrapped one of its ribbons around the birds' left ankle.

 _"Wait for a second Braviary, let's let him explain himself before we do anything stupid."_ the pink Pokémon, a Sylveon said which the other Pokémon quickly agreed with, all except for Aegislash who remained floating silently beside his trainer.

Sceptile held up his Poké Ball and started to make gestures to convey his story and predicament to the humans as he spoke to the Pokémon. _"I kind of got separated from my trainer. I think my Poké Ball got blasted out of the machine during transfer or something and I landed nearby."_ He looked at the assembled Pokémon and people. _"I didn't see much, I swear."_

Both Popplio, the Water-type Sceptile had seen playing with a bubble and Snivy, the Grass-type who was almost set on fire a few minutes ago, being the two youngest of the group, couldn't help but laugh at Sceptile. _"Why are you adding those hilarious gestures?"_

Sceptile looked at the Unovan Grass-type with a slightly annoyed look. _"So that the humans can understand me."_

 _“You don't have to do that, silly."_ Popplio waved a flipper to Serena with pride. _"My mama can understand Pokémon speak."_

Serena had a bit of an embarrassed smile as Popplio just told a random stranger her big secret. _'I need to teach her not to just say that to everyone we meet.'_ Serena mentally filed for later.

Sceptile wasn't as surprised as he should have been. After what happened at the Tree of Beginning, and their first try at the Battle Pyramid as well as everything else he has been through and heard about there was not much that could really surprise him these days, plus he had just watched her use Moonblast, a Pokémon move, which did, in fact, surprise him, so her being able to understand Pokémon didn't seem all that far-fetch'd at the moment.

"Hey, Serena, what is that Sceptile saying?" Bonnie had a good idea of what Sceptile meant, but Serena usually did a better job of explaining it, especially when her guesses were wrong. Bonnie really wished that she could learn how to understand Pokémon.

"Oh, Sceptile's Poké Ball got separated from his trainer due to an accident," Serena relayed to her companions. She looked at the Forest Pokémon again. "You mind telling me what your trainer looks like?"

Sceptile thought about this for a moment. His trainer likely wasn't wearing the same outfit as before, and all humans generally looked more or less the same to him, so this would be tricky...

"Sceptile, hello? Sceptile! Are you around here, Sceptile?" the aforementioned Pokémon turned his head in the direction of where the voice came from. Three people walked into the clearing. One was a tan-skinned young man wearing a green collared shirt, an orange vest, khaki pants, and blue hi-tops. The second one was a young blue-haired girl wearing a black and pink v-chop mini dress, and a white beanie on her head along with pink knee-high boots, and a yellow backpack with a Piplup in her arms.

The final one, however, caused Serena to pause as her mind flashed back to summer camp and the boy she met almost ten years ago. After coming home, she had kept in contact with him via mail, but she had lost touch with him several years ago due to their respective journeys making exchanging letters impractical at best. Her memory flashed back as she compared him then with now. The boy was fifteen years old wearing a black vest with a white collar and yellow stripe, a white short-sleeved undershirt, blue cargo jeans, black and red sneakers, and a black and red hat with a blue Poké Ball symbol on the front. Notably, he also had an extremely strong-looking Pikachu sitting on his left shoulder.

"Ash…" Serena's voice was shocked, and Ash looked equally surprised at seeing the Kalosian girl, though in his case it was also because this was the first time he had ever heard her voice and only knew she could speak thanks to their letters.

"Serena? What are you doing here?" Ash's familiarity with the stranger caused both his companions to look at the girl in surprise.

Serena pulled out her badge case. "I'm here to compete in the Sinnoh League." She had a small blush on her face. There was a brief feeling in the back of her head that this had all been arranged somehow, but she quickly shot it down.

"Seriously? That's great, I'm competing as well!" Ash's exclamation caused Serena to blush a bit more.

"Ash, you know this girl?" The blue-haired girl asked.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, this is Serena. We met at summer camp when we were kids, and wrote letters to each other for years."

"You never told me you had a pen pal," The dark-skinned young man stated, a little annoyed at being kept out of the loop.

"Everyone has secrets Brock," Ash said defensively, unaware that Pikachu, his partner who thus believed that Ash told him everything, was upset by this omission. "We lost touch a few years back. I didn't think I'd ever see her again, but…" He smiled at Serena, causing her heart to flutter. "Here we are."

"Yeah," she whispered. "Here we are…"

 _"Hey, Braixen, do you think it's him?"_ The Shiny Gardevoir asked, her voice a bit higher pitched and soft.

Braixen turned to her friend. Gardevoir was Serena's childhood best friend back when she was a Ralts as well as her first catch. Both Pokémon had an almost sisterly bond with both each other and Serena. They were the only two Pokémon that knew about her crush after all, with Gardevoir finding out pretty much as soon as Serena had returned from camp almost a decade ago. _"I do believe it is."_ Braixen held back a giggle.

The Embrace Pokémon soon had a dreamy look in her eyes as she started to picture this as if it were one of those romantic books she loved to read. _"This is so perfect. After the League, they can confess their feelings, become a couple, and get married!"_ The assembled Pokémon all turned to the Psychic and Fairy-type with either a look of confusion, eye rolls, or in Popplio's case, joy upon hearing this.

 _"I'm getting a daddy?!"_ Before she could go on an excitement-driven cheer, Sylveon wrapped her feelers around her to calm the Pokémon down.

This was the first time that Serena had ever wished she couldn't understand Pokémon. Her face was almost as red as a Latias' wings from all of this. Thankfully, the moment was broken when Bonnie loudly reminded everyone of her existence by rushing up to the bluenette, Dawn Berlitz as Serena would soon learn and exclaiming, "You're a keeper! Won't you please take care of my brother-"

"BONNIE, NO!"

It turned out the Pokémon Center that Ash and his friends had picked to stay in was the same one Serena and her friends were staying at as well. Serena had silently found that oddly convenient as they all settled down for a meal in the center's cafeteria, humans and Pokémon eating together, except for Dawn's Mamoswine and Ash's Snorlax who, of course, we're both too big to be in that part of the Center and would eat later.

Serena placed a bowl next to her for Popplio. _"Thank you, mama!"_ Popplio started eating as Serena gave her a soft pat on the head before placing the last bowl in front of her puzzling Dawn, who wondered who it was for. She got her answer when Serena placed a few of the bits in her mouth and ate them.

"Wait, you're eating Pokémon food?"

Clemont and Bonnie, who were unfazed by this, looked at Dawn. "She tends to prefer it over human food."

Clemont's explanation didn't do much to curb the weirdness of watching Serena eat Pokémon food. Serena gained another blush as she saw that Ash was watching her. Serena started to get self-conscious about it. "Well, you see…" Serena tried to come up with an explanation that made sense. "I… I kinda want to be closer to my Pokémon, you know?" Serena turned away from Ash, mentally screaming at herself. _'Oh, Arceus he probably thinks I'm a freak!'_

"Wow, really? That's so amazing." Serena turned back to him in surprise as everyone looked at the boy. "I mean, you're willing to go that far to bond with your Pokémon!" Ash rubbed the back of his neck with an embarrassed look. "Truth is, I tried that myself. I just couldn't handle the taste at all."

Serena gave a sigh of relief, yet she still had a small blush at his praise. She caught both Braixen and Gardevoir giggling at this. She shot her two honorary sisters a subtle glare, which only caused them to giggle harder.

"So you two have known each other for how long exactly?" Dawn inquired.

Serena and Ash looked at each other upon hearing Dawn's question. "Well, we met at Professor Oak's summer camp when we were six, and had kept in touch through letters for several years," Serena answered as she gave one of her sweet smiles.

Ash nodded, "Yeah, I remember hearing that you had gotten your first Pokémon. It got me so psyched for mine, that I kinda stayed up and overslept."

Serena cursed herself after hearing that. She was two months older than Ash and remembered sending him a letter about getting Fennekin. In her eyes, that caused him to miss out on getting a Squirtle which she knew was his preferred starter, sure his last letter had told her that he had gotten a Pikachu for his first Pokémon but until now she had no idea why and now she felt horrible. "I'm so sorry Ash, I didn't know!" Serena apologized, but Ash gave her a friendly smile.

"Hey, no worries, I may have overslept but it's thanks to that I met Pikachu." Ash reminded her and turned to his starter as Pikachu paused from eating his ketchup-covered Pokébits. "We've traveled a lot together and are the best of pals."

 _"Oh. Thank you, I guess,"_ Pikachu thanked the honey-haired girl.

"You're welcome, I think." Serena smiled at the little Electric-type, figuring that his words were clear enough that she could respond without fear of anyone figuring out her secret.

"You three have some amazing Pokémon." Brock's statement caused both Clemont and Bonnie to give each other embarrassed looks.

"Yeah, about that, all the Pokémon here except Dedenne, Snivy, Bunnelby, Luxray, and Chespin are all Serena's," Clemont explained. The group turned and looked at the assembled Pokémon. Serena had at least eight Pokémon with her.

"Isn't that over the six Pokémon limit?" Brock questioned as Clemont, Serena, and Bonnie all had guilty expressions on their faces. "What did you do?" Brock crossed his arms with a frown.

"Well, you see, technically Serena only has six on hand, it's just she can't seem to part with her Pokémon," Clemont remembered that Serena rarely put them in their Poké Balls unless they wanted it or she had to. The surprise when she first saw a Poké Ball disappear via transporter was still fresh in his mind. He hazarded a guess she almost learned Scary Face. Clemont pointed to his upgraded backpack contraption. "I made a special compartment in my backpack that stores her extra additional Poké Balls in a state similar to that the Professors use."

"Wow, you made it yourself?" Dawn asked in amazement.

Clemont gave Dawn an affirmative nod. "Yeah, it's one of my brother's inventions." Bonnie turned away and under her breath added, "At least one of the few that hasn't blown up in our faces yet." He scowled at her.

Ash looked at all the Pokémon that Serena had, pulling out his Pokédex to scan most of them and paused as he got to the unicorn-like Pokémon. "That's a Ponyta?" he asked in confusion.

"Yeah," Clemont said "She's a Galarian Ponyta. You see, some regions have Pokémon that have adapted to foreign environments, and due to the long-term isolation develop different types and in Ponyta's case the life energy found in Galar's Glimwood Tangle has made them Psychic-types."

Ash nodded in understanding before finishing the scan of all the unfamiliar Pokémon before turning back to the honey-haired girl with a bit of excitement. "So are most of them from Kalos?"

"Well Braixen, Gardevoir, Sylveon, Pancham, and Aegislash are from Kalos," Serena listed her first five Pokémon. She didn't add that Sylveon had evolved in Galar while Gardevoir and Aegislash had first evolved in Unova with Gardevoir reaching her final evolution in Hoenn and Aegislash reaching his in Johto. "Ponyta you already know comes from Galar", she gestured towards Braviary "He's from Unova," Finally, she tickled Popplio. "And my little girl hatched from an egg I got in Johto."

 _"Mama, stop it that tickles!"_ Popplio giggled as Serena just continued to tickle her.

"So you have eight Pokémon, then?" Ash asked. Serena shook her head at this. "How many more do you have?"

"Just two. Absol and Indeedee are at home, Absol apparently felt that she was needed back in Kalos and I keep Indeedee there to help out my mom."

"I do the same thing with my Mr. Mime." Ash replied while looking up what an Indeedee was not needing to look up the Disaster Pokémon, and after chuckling a bit added "My mom calls him Mimey."

"So have you competed in any other Leagues?" Brock asked, changing the subject.

"No, we mostly just traveled around and did small tournaments for a while. I did do Contests for a while but then I took a break and eventually decided to try my hand at a Pokémon League," Serena admitted, though she kept the fact someone gave her the idea after leaving a box in front of the Pokémon Center she was staying at to herself.

"So you're a Coordinator and a battler?" Dawn asked.

Serena pulled out her nine ribbons organized by region. "Unfortunately, I took a bit too long and couldn't compete in the Johto Grand Festival but the year before, I did manage to reach the semifinals of the Hoenn Grand Festival back in LaRousse City." Serena looked down at the ribbons and put them back in her bag. "Though most of my Pokémon are great battlers, some do have a preference. Pancham and Sylveon, for instance, generally prefer Contests or other events, though I could never bring myself to train Popplio for anything besides the Appeal Round. On the other hand, Braviary and Aegislash are pure battlers"

 _"I wouldn't be caught dead in one of those Contests,"_ Braviary added, still savoring his food.

 _"I don't know, Gardevoir showed me how they work and I think they look really fun,"_ Snivy spoke up. Since Snivy was only a few days old when Bonnie got her from Professor Juniper, Braviary, who was just a Rufflet at the time, had decided to take the young Grass-type under his wing. In light of that, he turned to Gardevoir with a bit of a glare.

 _"She asked, so I showed her a few of the routines Braixen and I had worked out."_ Gardevoir's calm reply was met with an annoyed eye roll from Braviary.

 _"Oh come on, Braviary, let the kid choose for herself!"_ Pancham half-yelled at the Valiant Pokémon. Sylveon gently whacked Pancham upside the head with her feelers soon after. _"Hey, what was that for?"_

Sylveon looked at him with an eye roll before speaking, her voice naturally cute-sounding. _"You be quiet, this is between Braviary and Gardevoir."_ Pancham shot her a slight glare before going back to eating. Sylveon turned to see Pikachu looking at her with a puzzled expression. _"Yes?"_

 _"Sorry, but did you evolve from an Eevee?"_ Pikachu had a feeling that was the case considering there seemed to be an Eeveelution for every type, but he wanted to make sure.

 _"Yes, I did,"_ Sylveon answered with a smile. _"I'm a Sylveon."_ She extended one of her feelers for Pikachu to shake.

 _"Thanks, you're kinda pretty,"_ Pikachu said with a slight blush on his face, causing Sylveon to blush as well.

Dawn's Buneary who was watching, gave Sylveon a death glare. Hopping over, she knocked Sylveon's feeler out of Pikachu's paws. _"Back off tramp, he's mine!"_

Pikachu let out a sigh at seeing this. Sylveon, however, shot back a glare at the Rabbit Pokémon. _"Did you just call me a tramp?!"_

Sylveon and Buneary were just about ready to fight when Pikachu broke it up. _"Hey, hey, no need for a fight, okay?"_ The two turned away from each other in a huff.

The small argument didn't go unnoticed by the trainers. Dawn had a blush of embarrassment after watching her Buneary get possessive of Pikachu. She gave Serena an apologetic look. "Sorry about that, Buneary kinda has a crush on Pikachu."

Serena waved it off. "It's fine, that stuff happens." Popplio tugged a bit on Serena's clothes. Serena turned to her little Sea Lion Pokémon.

 _"Mama, I'm done eating."_ Serena picked up Popplio's empty food bowl with a motherly smile. The Water-type yawned before snuggling closer to her. _"I'm sleepy."_ Popplio was soon napping next to her.

"Looks like Popplio has fallen asleep," Bonnie cooed in a low tone as Serena petted Popplio lightly. "Everyone, be quiet." Bonnie made a shushing motion to the others. The rest of the conversation was spent with soft talking and whispers as Serena and Ash spent the time catching up on their years apart, and Serena for her part had been left stunned by all the insane adventures Ash had been apart of, claims that were quickly backed up and elaborated on by his friends and Pokémon. The guy was practically a magnet for Legendary and Mythical Pokémon, though Serena couldn't help but notice the sheer number of times she and Ash had been in the same general vicinity as each other since arriving in Sinnoh, at times only missing each other by just a few days, hours or at one point mere minutes, the whole thing had once again given her the feeling that her meeting Ash again had somehow been arranged.

Serena looked out at the clear night sky from the balcony of her room as the stars twinkled. The Lily of the Valley Conference was soon to start, yet Serena wasn't even thinking about it. No, her mind was set on Ash. She blushed a bit as her mind conjured up an image of him in the stars.

 _"You're thinking about the Conference? Or is it about you know who?"_ Serena turned around to see Gardevoir standing there with her head tilted.

"A bit of both," Serena half-lied in a feeble attempt to cover herself, embarrassed.

Gardevoir giggled at her honorary sister. _"He's quite the person. I can see why you fell for him."_ Gardevoir's efforts got a deeper blush from Serena. _"So, you think we're ready for the League?"_

That was a big question that Serena didn't know how to answer. She believed in her team, in her family. She was sure they would do their best, yet there was still an unsettling feeling. This was her first attempt at a League. Ash had told her that this was his fourth major League run and he had yet to win one. Who knows how many more have similar stories? She was already nervous, but now she really started to feel in over her head. "I... I'm not sure."

Gardevoir took her hand in hers and looked at Serena straight in the eyes. _"Serena, it's okay to be nervous, but remember, we came to do our best."_ Gardevoir gave her a sisterly smile.

 _"Yeah, you shouldn't let yourself worry."_ Serena turned to see Braixen at her side. _"Remember all we've been through."_

Serena recalled her journey so far with her friends. All they had done and the hardships they faced. Her free hand moved to her pendant encased Key Stone. Serena closed her eyes and held it over her heart before she opened her eyes with a determined look.

"Thanks, girls." She brought them both into a hug. "I needed that."

Both Pokémon returned the hug. Outside the building, the entity who had been following Serena ever since she had left home quietly watched the scene from a nearby branch before turning its attention to another balcony on the other side of the building.

Ash, like Serena, was looking out into the clear night sky, reminiscing about all he had gone through since he came to Sinnoh. Pikachu jumped next to his partner, breaking him from his thoughts. "Well, we had an amazing journey, right buddy?"

"Pikachu." Ash's partner nodded in agreement. It was always a blast traveling with Ash, traveling the world, and making so many friends. Ash rubbed Pikachu's head, getting a happy "chaa" from the Pokémon.

"I'm really happy to see Serena again." Ash thought about summer camp and their letters to one another. Seeing her after all this time caused a weird feeling to come over him. He didn't want to see Serena go, and what's weird was that he wanted to stay close to her. "Hey Pikachu, mind if I tell you something?"

Pikachu looked at his partner with a curious look on his face. "Pika?

"It's just, seeing Serena after all this time, it's, well…" Ash paused, wondering how he was going to go about this. "I missed her and I don't want to see her go away again." Pikachu raised an eyebrow as he heard this. Could it be that Ash was actually in love with someone? "I don't know how to describe it Pikachu, but I hope that I get to see more of her." Ash had a very slight blush on his face before he walked back into the room to head to bed.

Pikachu blinked for a few minutes before he jumped down, grabbed Sceptile's Poké Ball, and raced out of the room to have a private conversation with the Grass-type. _"Well, looks like you, Bulbasaur, Swellow, and Noctowl win the bet."_

Sceptile, after getting his bearings from being let out so unexpectedly turned down to the small Electric-type with a confused look. _"Which bet?"_ The Forest Pokémon remembered a few bets he had with the mouse and a few of the other Pokémon at the ranch. It was one of the things they did to keep busy when they weren't sparring with each other or preventing real fights.

 _"The Big One. You know, the bet on whether or not Ash would ever fall in love,"_ Pikachu explained.

Sceptile stared at him for a few moments before remembering the bet in question. He only joined it because everyone else seemed to do it and because he had to admit, it was kind of strange watching his then fourteen-year-old trainer not show any signs of attraction to anyone. _"I'll be honest. I wasn't fully into it when I joined,"_ Sceptile admitted before he looked back at Pikachu. _"So, is it the new blue-haired girl? May, or that girl Misty?"_ Pikachu shook his head and with that Sceptile's list of probable females was thrown out. Cringing, he tentatively asked, _"Is it, Brock?"_ Pikachu gave him a weird look. _"What? Humans occasionally do that, you know,"_ he said defensively.

Pikachu blinked a few times as he tried to find the words to respond with. _"I... wha... how... I didn't need to know that."_ Pikachu, after a few moments just accepted it as something he shouldn't judge. _"You don't mind if I ask how you found that out?"_

 _"Oh, I watch TV occasionally with the others. Sports mostly, but Meganium has dragged me into watching her soap operas. It's where I learned about that."_ Sceptile shrugged. _"Not my place to judge. If they're happy, they're happy."_ He did know a few Pokémon that did it as well. Given how Pikachu was reacting, he likely didn't know that either. _'I wonder how many don't know about it?'_

There was another thing that Pikachu had to question. _'When did Bayleef evolve?'_ Deciding to stay on track, Pikachu pushed that question aside for now. _"No, it's that girl Serena. The one Ash used to know for years. You four had bet that Ash already had his eyes on someone and you were right."_ Pikachu held his paw under his chin in thought. _"Though he still doesn't know that he is in love."_

Sceptile blinked for a moment at hearing this. _"Seriously? He's fifteen years old and he still doesn't know what love is?"_ The Grass-type shook his head in disappointment. _"You know, she can understand us. Not to mention that I actually saw her use Moonblast."_

 _"You're joking right?"_ Pikachu looked at Sceptile, whose expression had changed to a very serious one. _"You're not joking."_

 _"Trust me, I'm not."_ The two were silent for a moment as they considered this.

 _"How in Arceus' name is that even possible?"_ Pikachu has seen a lot of crazy stuff traveling with Ash. Psychics and Aura Guardians? Yeah, he could get on board with that. Legendary and Mythical Pokémon directly or indirectly causing chaos with Ash having to help save the day? That was just the first Tuesday of the month for him at this point. A human that could understand Pokéspeak, that was still reasonable but one that could also use a Fairy-type move? Yeah, that finally stretched his rather flexible definition of believability, and he had been involved in the Greenfield Incident where a little girl had been given complete control over reality by the Unown.

 _"Maybe she's secretly part Pokémon?"_ Sceptile joked, receiving a glare of annoyance from Pikachu. _"That was a joke. The rest, yeah, I'm dead serious, and trust me, even I have a hard time believing it and I saw it!" ___

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there is chapter three, and here we have our first major deviation from “United Destiny: The Hero and the Hybrid” in the form of Serena’s team, which here consists of Braixen, Pancham, and Sylveon along with a Shiny Gardevoir, an Aegislash, a Galarian Ponyta, a Braviary and a Popplio, plus an Absol and a female Indeedee at home with Grace. As for Ash, his Pokémon are more or less the same as it was at this point in canon with a few major exceptions, mainly in the form of a few evolutions that has not happened in the show as of yet and I swapped out Staraptor (to avoid Ash having to constantly rotate his team) for a different Pokémon that was given to Ash shortly before he left for Sinnoh by a very important (and non-canon) individual in Ash's life who you will be meeting at some point down the road. Also, as this is the Sinnoh League Ash's entire roster will be in constant rotation for the next several chapters and in this chapter, his team currently consists of Donphan, Snorlax. Corphish, Quilava, Sceptile, and of course Pikachu.
> 
> I would also like to make it quite clear that I will only be including about half of Ash's original Kalos team in this story so I may include other Pokémon he did not have, if you are a fan of those characters then I apologize but neither they nor Ash's Unova Pokémon will be included on Ash's team, however, I will not be ruling out the possibility that at least a few of them could end up making appearances elsewhere. Anyway thanks for reading, have a nice day and I hope to see you again soon.


	4. The Preliminaries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FF.net Release Date: 07-30-2020  
> AO3 Release Date: 03-04-2021
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any other franchise which I may or may not use. I only own the fanmade Pokémon included in this story and even then I am using the name and base concept of "Sereginia" with permission of the author of "United Destiny: The Hero and the Hybrid", however, while this is something of a rewrite, it is my story so I will be putting my own spin on the idea and some things will be quite different once things get going.

Fireworks exploded high in the skies above Lily of the Valley Island as the opening ceremony of the Sinnoh League was underway. Vendors had set up shops all around the four stadiums, hawking their overpriced wares. Spectators flooded the stands, ready to watch trainers do battle. The hopeful trainers were all standing together in the central stadium, waiting for Charles Goodshow, President of the Interregional League Committee to make the opening remarks to begin the tournament. Serena herself stood at the far end of the trainer crowd. She could make out Ash and Pikachu right in the middle of the other competitors. Some were younger than her, others older and a few who were around her age.

Everyone turned their attention forward as Mr. Goodshow soon ascended to the stage and took the mic. "I welcome everyone to the start of the Lily of the Valley Conference, boy that's a mouthful, huh?" The aging head of the Pokémon League's little joke brought a small smile to a few faces throughout the stadium, Serena included. "Our competitors have traveled far and wide from across the regions, they have proven their worth by earning eight gym badges, and now here they are to compete in the fifty-eighth annual Sinnoh League Championship!" A roar of cheers and applause were heard by the spectators in the stands. "Now to officially signal the beginning of the Conference: the lighting of the League cauldron!" The trainers turned around as the torch runner came racing up, ascended the stairs and placed the flame in the cauldron, igniting it, and bathing everyone in its light and heat.

With the opening ceremonies concluded, the trainers started to leave the area, including Serena. From what she remembered of the rules for this particular League Conference, there were a hundred-and-twenty-eight competitors and before the main tournament began, a one-on-one preliminary round would be held to eliminate half of the trainers.

_"You did well out there."_ Serena wasn't surprised to see Gardevoir standing there waiting for her with Braixen by her side, her honorary sisters were always there to give her support when they felt she needed it. _"I can sense you're nervous."_

"Yeah, a little." The Embrace Pokémon smiled at her. True, she was nervous, but she also liked to think that she was ready for whatever was thrown at her… even if it was Ash.

Echoing her thoughts, Braixen added _"Don't you worry, we will do great. Now, we should probably head back and see who our first opponent will be."_ Serena gave a nod in agreement and followed the two Pokémon back to where the others were waiting to get ready.

Pikachu had kept his eyes on Serena as he watched her converse with her Pokémon. Most humans would probably just chalk it up to a trainer being close enough to their Pokémon to get the gist of what they were saying, as was typically the case between him and Ash. The Mouse Pokémon, however, could understand them, and the way Serena spoke to Braixen and Gardevoir was a bit too direct.

Pikachu was still somewhat skeptical about her supposed special abilities, but now he was thinking that Sceptile might have been right. Ash turned his head, noticing that his partner was looking off in thought. "Hey Pikachu, are you alright?"

The Electric-Type turned back to Ash and gave a mareepish look in embarrassment. "Pi, Pikachu." Ash himself turned to see the retreating figures of Serena and her Pokémon. Strangely enough, he actually felt bad about potentially having to battle her for some inexplicable reason.

'Wait, where is this coming from?' It was weird, as it wasn't the only feeling he had. He wondered if she would leave if she was defeated, or if she would stick around to cheer him on. 'Maybe I should ask Brock about this?' Brock seemed to have advice for everything, and maybe he could help him with these feelings he had about Serena.

Planning to talk to Brock, Ash walked into the lobby to find his friend when he paused, seeing Paul walking out of the building. Quickly making a mental note to ask Brock about Serena later, Ash raced to catch up to his Sinnoh rival. "Hey Paul, wait up!" The purple-haired teen turned to Ash, his face hosting a neutral and indifferent expression. "I see you made it."

Paul simply sneered at this as though Ash's comment had been a profound insult. "Of course I did." Seeing that Paul was about to take off again, Ash moved to make a response, but before he could another voice cut in.

"Hey, do you know how rude you're being?!" Bonnie yelled as she came walking up to Paul with Dedenne and Snivy following her. "Ash is trying to be your friend, the least you can do is not be a jerk about it." Dedenne and Snivy both spoke up in agreement with her.

Paul looked at the young girl for a moment but didn't seem fazed at all by her words. "Whatever." Turning around, however, he was met with a one-eyed glare courtesy of Aegislash.

Next to the somewhat menacing floating shield and sword was Serena, who also had a glare fixed at Paul. "Okay, what is your deal?" Serena hadn't even met this guy and already she was starting to dislike him.

Paul looked at the honey-haired girl and back at the Aegislash. He recalled seeing it with a bunch of other Pokémon waiting in the lobby. Paul may have never been to the Kalos region, but he knew the Pokémon from what his brother had told him about it. "My deal is that this is a serious competition. That's it."

Aegislash's glare quickly hardened from one of mild annoyance to one of loathing. There was something about this boy that the Royal Sword Pokémon just hated. _"Mistress, may I have permission to attack him?"_

Serena shook her head slightly at his request. No matter how much she disliked the guy, she wouldn't wish Aegislash's wrath on him. "No, Aegislash." She sighed and got out of his way, allowing Paul to walk past. Pikachu watched that with interest. It wasn't hard to pick out her Pokémon's emotions, but something about that exchange told him she had known what he had said.

After walking just a few feet, Paul hesitated and then glanced back. "You've been to Kalos, correct?"

"Actually, I'm from Kalos." Serena raised an eyebrow at this, wondering what he was getting at. "Why do you ask?"

Paul turned to her with a look that held a bit of curiosity. "Is it true? The rumors of a higher form of evolution?"

Serena was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this. Only a small handful of trainers had asked her about that throughout her travels. Ash was confused by Paul's question. "Higher form of evolution? What's that?"

Paul looked at Ash, seemingly more understanding of his ignorance than usual. "I'm not surprised you haven't heard about it, not many have." the purple-haired teen paused for a moment, turning to Serena. "It's said to be an extra evolution that certain Pokémon have access to. Supposedly, it's temporary, yet the results would be easily apparent." Paul locked eyes with Serena. "Kalos is said to be where it originated."

Serena debated for a moment on how to respond to this. She seriously doubted that this guy would be able to achieve it. "There is, but it's not something you can pull off just by training."

Paul had a surprised look for a moment after hearing her say that. He had been quite skeptical about the rumors himself, yet the idea of a new way to increase the power of his Pokémon was very tempting. It also made sense that simple training wouldn't be enough. After all, if that was the case, it would be known the world over. "So, it is true then. Have you seen it before?"

Serena closed her eyes for a second as the memory of when she and Gardevoir had first pulled off that specific power-up. She opened her eyes and answered, "Yes, I've seen it."

Paul looked at Serena for a moment before nodding his head. "Thank you for your time." He turned away and what he said next surprised everyone. "I hope you get far in the League." He walked away from the group as he wondered what to do with this information.

A silence came over the group for a short while until it was finally broken by Ash. "Wow, so there really is a higher form of evolution?"

Bonnie gave Ash a nod. "Yeah, it's called Mega Evolution. You should see it! It makes a strong Pokémon even stronger!" Bonnie turned to Serena who shook her head in slight exasperation at Bonnie's antics.

"Wow, I wish I could see it!" Ash said excitedly. Serena's hands reached for her pendant after hearing this. Her thoughts went back to her desire to not use Mega Evolution during the Conference, though she had a feeling that she would need it if she had to go up against Ash. "Hey, Serena?" And just as her thoughts had turned to her new rival and longtime crush did the boy himself bring her back to reality. "We should probably get going; we've got to see who our opponents will be, after all."

"Right." The three humans walked to the center, with the Pokémon coming close behind them.

Charizard basked in the warm sun of the Charicific Valley, almost falling asleep at times. Things had been rather slow in the valley lately. This had started to bore Charizard a little. According to Liza, he was nearing the end of his training, and while that still meant there was more to do, he was craving a challenge. None of the other Charizard were up for a battle, due mainly to how much stronger he was than any of them and no poacher had tried to raid the valley in months.

"Hey, Char." Charizard picked himself up as he saw Liza climbing up on his ledge. The pseudo-dragon quickly helped her up the cliff face. "Thanks, I've been looking for you."

This was a surprise. Liza only ever came to him if she needed help with something big, or if… Charizard looked down at her belt and saw his Poké Ball. The Fire and Flying-type knew exactly what this meant and it got him excited. Ash was calling him up!

Liza noticed the pseudo dragon's excitement and smiled at him. "Yep, I got off the phone with Professor Oak. Ash is competing in the Sinnoh League with all his Pokémon, and the Professor figured it'd be best if I sent you over as well."

This was the answer Charizard was looking for. He could finally try out all he has learned, relieve his boredom, and see his trainer and his friends again. Charizard gave Liza a nod and stood ready. Liza unclipped his Poké Ball and in a red flash of light, the Flame Pokémon disappeared into it.

A few hours later, Liza had made it back to her small home built into the caves of the valley. Powering up the transfer system, she called Professor Oak. After a few moments, the Professor appeared on the screen. "Ah, Liza, I take it you have Ash's Charizard?" Liza nodded, turning to the side to show the Poké Ball ready for transfer.

"Yep, he's all set." Liza turned on the machine and Charizard's Poké Ball was sent to the Professor. "Tell Ash I said hi for me."

Professor Oak gave a nod of confirmation. "Will do, Liza. You take care now." With that, the video call ended.

With that settled, Liza went back to looking at a report that a Ranger from Kalos had filed. According to it, he saw a trainer's Charizard suddenly turn black and blue after what appeared to be an Evolution. Reading it over, Liza recalled her grandfather talking about a pair of stones he had gotten in his travels that could propel a Pokémon who had a strong bond with their trainer to new heights. 'I wonder if that might actually be true...'

The preliminary round had begun in the Lily of the Valley Conference. Ash stared down his opponent as the two trainers tossed out their Pokémon. "Gabite, I choose you!" Ash called, his Poké Ball bursting open in a flash of light as the mid-sized draconic land-shark appeared. His adversary appeared a second later in the form of a shaggy fur covered Pokémon with a pig-like face.

"Gabite!" the Dragon and Ground-type roared, having evolved just before the League.

"Primeape, ape!" The Fighting-type punched the air in front of itself while it stomped about.

With the Pokémon chosen, the referee raised his flags. "Gabite versus Primeape, begin!" With that, the match officially started.

"Primeape, use Mega Punch!" Ash's opponent wasted no time and called out his move.

"Dodge it and use Dual Chop!" Gabite managed to dodge out of the way and with it's lower arms glowing green, delivered a pair of heavy simultaneous strikes on Primeape, sending the Fighting-type back a bit. The Pig Monkey Pokémon quickly regained its footing and wasting no time, its trainer called out the next attack.

"Payback, now!"

"Dodge it!"

Gabite took off, but it was a little too late as Primeape backhanded Gabite across the midsection, knocking him on his back. The Cave Pokémon quickly pulled himself up as Primeape prepared for its next attack.

"Use Outrage!" A red glow started to cover Primeape as it began to charge straight at Gabite while stomping all over the place.

"Dig now!" Ash commanded, knowing full well that it would be super effective if the move connected.

Gabite tunneled underground as quickly as a Sharpedo swam through water while Primeape came rushing in absolutely enraged thanks to the move it's trainer had called and grew even angrier when it noticed that its opponent was nowhere to be found. Being too busy stomping about in rage to realize what was going on, it failed to get out of the way before the earth gave way as Gabite emerged to deliver a strike, knocking Primeape back.

"Primeape!" Ash's opponent called out before gritting his teeth. "Use Payback!"

Primeape having calmed down somewhat, twisted its body around to deliver another powerful strike, but unlike last time, Ash was ready. "Gabite, use Dual Chop and toss Primeape into the sky!" Gabite's arms glowed as he met the attack using Primeape's momentum against it, tossing the Pig Monkey Pokémon into the air over his head. "Now, Draco Meteor!"

"Primeape, try to block it with Mega Punch!" Primeape's fist glowed as Gabite launched the powerful Dragon-type attack, and while the powerful punch was easily able to counter one of the meteors, the force of the impact was enough to send the Fighting-type several feet back, right into the path of a second meteor, which immediately exploded upon making contact. Primeape was sent flying from the force of the impact and the conflagration, tired and severely weakened.

"Let's finish this! Dual Chop!" Gabite's arms glowed once more and just before Primeape hit the ground, the Fighting-type was met with the attack. Primeape landed on the ground face first and after ten seconds failed to get back up.

"Primeape is unable to battle, Gabite is the winner! Meaning Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town will be advancing to the main tournament!" The referee called out as the small crowd cheered.

"Alright, Gabite! We did it!" Ash raced onto the field to hug his Dragon-type, while his opponent dejectedly returned Primeape and walked out of the arena.

Gabite returned the hug, happy for his victory. "Gabite!" The Dragon-type then gave Ash's head a playful Bite, much to the fifteen-year-old's surprise and annoyance.

"Aw, Gabite, seriously?" Ash tried to pull his head out of the Cave Pokémon's mouth.

In the stands, Dawn and Brock witnessed the celebration unfold. "Gabite sure has gotten a lot stronger since he evolved." Dawn had a bit of a giggle as she watched Ash struggle a bit with Gabite's mouth. "And it seems he still enjoys biting Ash's head."

"Yep." Brock nodded in amused agreement.

At that point, Gabite finally let Ash loose from his mouth, having given his trainer a playful smile. Returning him to his Poké Ball, Ash raced out of the stadium. Serena's match should be going on now, and he didn't want to miss it.

By the time Ash, Dawn and Brock had made it to the stadium where Serena's battle was set to take place, the fight was already in full swing. Her Galarian Ponyta was out and facing off against a large airborne pterosaur-like Pokémon. Dawn stopped and went wide-eyed at the sight. "An Aerodactyl?" said Rock and Flying-type was currently hovering above the Psychic-type.

"Aerodactyl, use Crunch!" The pterosaur's trainer commanded. The Fossil Pokémon dove with its large jaws wide knowing full well that the Dark-type move would be super effective should it connect.

"Backflip!" Serena yelled, and Ponyta did several backflips before jumping into the air, causing the Fossil Pokémon to close its jaws on nothing but air. "Psybeam!" Ponyta quickly charged up a blue and pink energy beam before firing it right at Aerodactyl.

"Defend with Steel Wing!" The Fossil Pokémon's wings were quickly covered in a glowing white metallic sheen blocking the blast just in time while both splitting and refracting the blast into several smaller beams of Psychic energy.

Serena and Ponyta shared a smirk. "Move in close and use Zen Headbutt!" Ponyta charged at the pterosaur, horn glowing bright blue with Psychic energy, jumping into the air before coming down hard on Aerodactyl's head. The prehistoric Pokémon fell to the ground, stunned.

Unfortunately, Aerodactyl's trainer was ready. "Dragon Pulse!" Before Ponyta could react, a stream of shimmering purplish draconic energy slammed into her head-on, sending her flying.

_"Aghhhh!"_ Ponyta cried out, barely managing to land on all fours after a triple backflip. _"I'm fine, just a bit winded."_ After taking a moment to get her bearings, Ponyta got back into battle position, ready to continue.

"Alright," Serena gave her next command. "Psybeam!"

_"Come on Ponyta; show this overgrown lizard who's boss!"_ Snivy cheered out from the stands in Bonnie's lap, forgetting that she herself was also a lizard.

_"You can do it, mama!"_ Popplio joined in as they watched Ponyta roll out of the way of another Dragon Pulse before hitting Aerodactyl with a sudden Mystical Fire instead. Ash and his friends looked on as they took the three empty seats next to Bonnie.

"Hey Ash, how did your match go?" Clemont asked.

On the battlefield, Aerodactyl switched tactics and went in close with a Crunch, catching Ponyta off guard.

"I won my match," Ash informed as he watched Serena's Galarian Ponyta backflip away from another Steel Wing.

The Fossil Pokémon's trainer was starting to get impatient. "Fly up into the sky!" And with that command, the Rock and Flying-type ascended into the air, far enough that Ponyta would have some serious trouble hitting her adversary. "Finish this with Sky Attack!" For several moments, Aerodactyl shined brightly as it built up energy for the devastating Flying-type attack, pausing only briefly to move out of the way of another Psybeam. Once the light surrounding Aerodactyl reached its maximum intensity, the pterosaur dove, ready to unleash the attack.

_"Serena!"_ Ponyta yelled, hoping she had a way out of this.

"Use Mystical Fire to jump before it hits!" She yelled quickly. No sooner as Ponyta had charged up the attack, then she fired it straight into the ground providing more than enough thrust to launch her skyward mere milliseconds before the blazing figure of Aerodactyl collided with the spot Ponyta had been which was now covered in bright technicolor flames. "Dazzling Gleam!"

Ponyta, having now surrounded herself with a sphere of rainbow Fairy-type energy slammed right into Aerodactyl's head just after the flames of her previous attack had died down, knocking her opponent unconscious. Having finished her job, Ponyta swiftly jumped off the Rock and Flying-type and struck a victory pose for the audience.

"Aerodactyl is unable to battle. Ponyta is the winner! That means Serena Yvonne of Vaniville Town is moving on to the main tournament!" After hearing the referee's decision, the stands lit up with cheers and applause. Serena and Ponyta walked up and gave the audience a bow.

_"Way to go, Ponyta!"_ Snivy yelled out. Bonnie couldn't help but giggle at her Grass-type's enthusiastic cheering for her friend.

_"Mama's the best!"_ Popplio cried in joy.

"Wow, that was amazing," Dawn turned to Clemont and Bonnie, clearly having noticed how Ponyta's moves during the battle seemed reminiscent of Contest battling. "Hey, does Serena use Ponyta for Contest battles?"

Clemont nodded. "Oh yes, Ponyta is one of Serena's primary Contest battlers alongside Braixen and Gardevoir. Outside Contests, they use a slightly modified battle style for Gyms and tournaments."

Ash was amazed at hearing that. He had done a handful of Contests before, though he found it's style didn't really fit his own, but he did have a great deal of respect for it, "Wow, she's able to do that? I can't wait to battle her and Ponyta." As he said that, he was reminded of his feelings from before. Turning to Brock, he decided to talk to him now rather than later. "Hey Brock, mind if we talk a bit in private?"

Brock was taken aback by his best friend's sudden request for a second. "Sure, Ash."

The two of them wandered out of the bleachers and into a relatively quiet section of the stadium hallways. "So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

"Well Brock, it's a little strange. After seeing Serena again, I started having this feeling that I don't want to see her leave." Brock just stared at Ash, he didn't want to jump to conclusions but it sounded like his best friend just might be in love. "I feel like I want to be close to her and when I first thought about battling her, I kinda… I didn't want to."

"You…" Brock was at a loss after hearing this. "You didn't want to battle her?"

Ash nodded. "At first, I mean I want to now, it's just..." at that point he trailed off not knowing how to continue.

Brock placed a hand on his shoulder. "Ash, you do know what love is, right?" Brock himself had noticed in their travels that both Misty and May seemed to have developed crushes on him, yet it seemed that Ash hadn't even noticed let alone shown any signs of attraction to either of them or anyone else for that matter. At times, he even wondered if Ash actually understood what love was.

Ash gave him a weird look. "Of course I do. I released Butterfree so he could be with his mate, after all." Though he never technically fully released him. He had Professor Oak keep his Poké Ball registered so he didn't have to worry about a trainer capturing him and taking him away from his mate. He paused for a second as he finally put together what Brock was hinting at. "I'm in love with Serena, aren't I?"

Brock nodded his head in agreement. "It sure looks that way, though only you can know that for sure." Ash thought about this revelation. True, he did know what love was and could recognize it in others with a bit of effort, yet for some reason, he never considered that he might end up falling in love himself.

Watching from the lobby of the Pokémon Center, the rest of Serena's Pokémon cheered as they watched her move on to the tournament proper. Braviary had a smirk on his face thinking about the admittingly impressive end to the battle as he watched the Galarian Psychic-type walk out of the stadium next to Serena, though he had to roll his eyes at the fact that she had decided to strike a victory pose.

Pancham however, wasn't celebrating with the others, and that caught Sylveon's attention being next to him _"Hey Pancham, why aren't you celebrating?"_

The Playful Pokémon just pointed to the screen he was watching. Sylveon after taking a moment to process what she was seeing went wide-eyed and screamed out _"OH MY ARCEUS, THAT'S A DARKRAI!"_ The rest of Serena's team turned and saw that on the screen was indeed the Pitch-Black Pokémon, the infamous and Mythical Darkrai!

Silence came over the group as they stared at the screen. Slowly everyone, even Braviary who dropped his usual prideful attitude, turned their gaze to Gardevoir. They all knew who the strongest member of their team was. After all, the Shiny Pokémon did take on Legendaries before, and that was without her secret weapon.

_"I'll tell Serena,"_ Gardevoir looked at the replay of Darkrai's battle, trying to gauge how powerful he was. Theoretically, she had a slight type advantage due to being part Fairy, though as she was also part Psychic, she had no real resistance to his attacks and her Psychic-type moves would have no effect on him. But as the quote-unquote "battle" had consisted of just two moves, Dark Void and Dream Eater, there wasn't much to be gathered and since no two Myths or Legends were the same, it was impossible to determine exactly what this particular Pokémon was capable of. At least since her ability was Synchronize the combo Darkrai had used against his unfortunate opponent wouldn't work on her.

_"I'll be sure to remind you to grab the Gardevoirite, just in case,"_ Braixen said to Gardevoir, who nodded knowing it was probably for the best.

Meanwhile, half a world away in the Kalos region, someone was watching the broadcast of the Lily of the Valley Conference Preliminaries that were occurring in Sinnoh. The image of Ash Ketchum appeared on the screen, showing that he had made it into the main tournament. The burly man was about to change the channel when the image shifted to show another individual.

He paused as he watched the honey-haired girl's victory over an Aerodactyl before turning off the TV. He pressed a button on his intercom to summon his secretary. A few minutes later, she entered his office to see her boss looking out his window towards the ocean. "Yes sir, what do you require?"

"Cancel my appointments for the next few weeks. Also, prepare my jet, I wish to be in Sinnoh by tomorrow." He declared.

His request left his secretary speechless for a brief moment. "Of course sir, but if you don't mind, may I ask why?"

The burly man turned towards her with a proud smile on his face. "Why, my daughter is competing in the Sinnoh League, of course. What kind of father would I be if I didn't cheer her on?" His face hardened a bit at that. True, he wasn't as close to Serena as he would like and Grace had made it extremely clear that she no longer wanted anything to do with him, Yet he did try to do his best when it came to his princess, even though work kept getting in the way.

The secretary being among the very few who knew about her boss's daughter, having been the one to be entrusted to mail the girl her father's presents over the last decade or so was not nearly as surprised to hear the news as most would be, yet like her boss, she still had a job to do, and she felt it was her duty to remind him of that, "But sir, the representatives from Silph-"

He held his hand up to silence her. His gaze hardened as he put more authority into his already commanding voice. "Tell them to reschedule the meeting. My mind is made up about this."

"Very well, sir." The secretary sighed as she turned on her tablet. Clearing the schedule would be a lot of work on her part, though privately she couldn't help but respect the man's decision. As she left the office to do what her boss had asked, the man in question returned to looking out to sea, and with his mind once again focusing on his daughter, Lysandre smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have chapter four, now chapter five is going to be a big one since in addition to a major reveal I’m going to be posting a little bit of my VERY extensive notes at the end. Regardless, that's for later so thanks for reading, have a nice day and I hope to see you again soon.


	5. What Am I?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FF.net Release Date: 08-28-2020  
> AO3 Release Date: 03-05-2021
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any other franchise which I may or may not use. I only own the fanmade Pokémon included in this story and even then I am using the name and base concept of "Sereginia" with permission of the author of "United Destiny: The Hero and the Hybrid", however, while this is something of a rewrite, it is my story so I will be putting my own spin on the idea and some things will be quite different once things get going.
> 
> Note: Now at the end of the last chapter I said I will be adding a bit of info from my notes as a bit of supplemental material and since the End of Chapter notes aren't long enough I have been left with no choice but to add them on at the end of this chapter so please once you are finished with the final scene, please stick around to enjoy the bonus material.

Serena blinked, wanting to make sure she had heard that correctly. After coming back with Ponyta, her Pokémon told her about the trainer they had seen… the trainer with a Darkrai. "You sure that he had a Darkrai?" All of them save for Ponyta and Popplio, the latter of whom was still with Bonnie, gave her a nod in confirmation.

Serena turned to Gardevoir, locking eyes with her strongest partner. _"You said we shouldn't use Mega Evolution unless we absolutely had to."_

Serena could tell what the Embrace Pokémon was getting at. Reaching into her bag, Serena pulled out a pendant which, unlike the ornate silver one she wore that she could probably never afford on her own, this one was much simpler, holding a spherical stone similar to but a little larger than a Key Stone set into a chrome heart. "Yeah, and a Darkrai definitely warrants it." Serena knew that Gardevoir could hold her own without Mega Evolution having helped against both Zekrom and Reshiram while still a Kirlia, but it never hurt to be prepared. The Psychic and Fairy-type took the Gardevoirite and placed it around her neck with the Mega Stone resting comfortably on her chest.

Braviary had a chuckle at this. _"Well, now that we have our secret weapon primed and ready, we have other opponents to worry about."_ He turned his gaze to Serena. _"Have they announced the first-round matchups yet?"_

"Not that I know of, but the preliminaries are just about wrapping up, so it shouldn't be too long."

"Hey, Serena!" Bonnie came racing up to her older friend with Popplio in her arms and Snivy on her shoulder, all three of whom looked a little panicked. "I just heard someone is using a Darkrai! An actual Darkrai!" The two small Pokémon voiced their confirmation to try and back up Bonnie's claim until the three sets of eyes gazed on the Gardevoirite, which quickly dispelled their panic. "Oh, you already know?" Serena gave her a nod before taking her little Water-type into her arms.

_"Yeah, we already told her."_ Pancham crossed his arms.

_"Oh, Serena, I just realized something,"_ Braixen spoke up instantly, getting her trainer's attention. _"Since the Lily of the Valley Conference is televised, as soon as Gardevoir Mega Evolves, not only would everyone know of our secret weapon, but the very existence of Mega Evolution would become common knowledge."_

"Yes, I know." Serena then silently wondered if her mother was watching the Sinnoh League and perhaps maybe even her father. _'Probably not, he never really made much in the way of time for me.'_ It was a bit sad, but the fact was, growing up she never got to see her father much, whether it was because of her mother, who she knew had grievances with him, or his work, heck if it wasn't for a random encounter when she was four, she might not have ever met him.

At that moment, Ash and his friends walked into the center. Just like Serena, the raven-haired teen had heard about the Darkrai, only he heard it from Barry, his hyperactive friend/rival who had also discovered that the trainer who had used Darkrai had swept all eight of his Gym Battles using just that singular member of his team. Naturally, Ash was already trying to think of a counter for such a Pokémon should he have to face it.

He spotted Serena and walked up to her. "Hey Serena, have you heard, one of the trainers has a Darkrai!"

Serena briefly wondered if she should expect Clemont to tell her about Darkrai next, once he showed up from wherever he's hiding, probably in their room attempting to build some sort of stupidly named contraption to help her figure out a strategy to take down the Pitch-Black Pokémon which would inevitably explode in their faces within two and a half minutes of being turned on. "Yeah, I know."

"Do you have a way to counter it?" Ash wondered, looking at Serena's team.

"Well technically, I have three… I think." Serena knew that both Pancham and Sylveon had a type advantage and their small size, raw speed, and skills at dancing would, at least in theory make it difficult for Darkrai to land a solid hit. However, they were the alternatives to Gardevoir, who she knew had a better chance against the Dark-type Mythical Pokémon, despite half of her moveset being completely useless in that particular matchup.

Dawn, being a Coordinator with some history as an amateur Poké Stylist, having made numerous outfits for her own Pokémon as well as Pikachu, quickly took note of the pendant around Gardevoir's neck. "Hey Serena, if you don't mind me asking, what is that pendant Gardevoir is wearing?" Both Ash and Brock turned their gaze to the pendant around the Shiny Embrace Pokémon's neck as well.

Ash frowned and after a moment glanced at Serena. "That gem looks a lot like the one on your necklace." He started to wonder about something from earlier when Paul had asked if Serena knew about a higher form of evolution. 'Does she know how to use it?'

"I guess you can say it's a friendship pendant. Gardevoir was Serena's first catch back when she was a Ralts. In fact, they have been the best of friends since Serena was five, they're basically sisters… Braixen too." Bonnie explained.

Serena had a small blush as the group looked at her, though she was more focused on Ash, who seemed amazed. Technically Bonnie wasn't lying. The friendship between trainer and Pokémon when channeled through a Key Stone and that Pokémon's species matching Mega Stone was the source behind Mega Evolution and she had Gardevoir's necklace made when they first managed to pull it off. Plus, it was true that the two of them, along with Braixen had effectively become honorary sisters over the years.

"Whoa, you're that close to your Pokémon?" Ash suddenly started to feel like a jerk, at least a little bit. For Hoenn and to a lesser extent Sinnoh, he simply started fresh with a new team apart from Pikachu, and in the case of Sinnoh, two others, leaving the friends he made with Professor Oak, he even turned down their help for the Hoenn League. Compared to Serena, he must seem like an uncaring jerk who threw away his friends whenever he wanted to go somewhere new. He quickly shook those thoughts from his head. He wasn't a jerk like Paul, and nor was he heartless, he always made sure to spend time with all of his Pokémon whenever he returned home and had made it a point to use a lot of his older teammates during the Battle Frontier, yet he could see how close Serena was to her Pokémon and he knew that he could do a lot better.

Bonnie, saving a blushing Serena from saying or doing anything to further embarrass herself pointed to a nearby TV screen as it lit up to show the sixty-four trainers that had successfully won their way into the main tournament. "Hey look, I think they're about to announce who's facing who." The five of them turned and watched as the tournament ladder appeared over the remaining trainers, whose portraits were quickly shuffled around before being placed in the bottom row. Ash was on the far right-hand side of the ladder while Serena was situated around twenty slots to the left.

"Well, looks like we aren't facing each other, at least not until the semifinals anyway," Ash said, smiling at Serena.

Bonnie, however, following the tournament ladder noticed something important. "Yeah, but she’ll likely have to take down the trainer with a Darkrai to get there."

That caused the rest of their group, human and Pokémon alike to look at the screen once more, and true to Bonnie's words, if Serena wanted a chance to face off against Ash in the semifinals, she would probably have to take down the already infamous trainer in the quarterfinals and since he had somehow managed to obtain a Darkrai, there was no telling what the heck was on the rest of his team.

"Okay guys, it'll still be a while before either of you have to deal with that guy, but for now, the two of you should probably just focus on the next round." Brock, having been quiet up to this point interjected, not wanting them to get too worked up worrying about an opponent they won't have to deal with for some time, if at all. Both teens found themselves in agreement with the former Gym Leader.

Outside, amongst the vendors, a certain trio of incompetent criminals had set up shop for the League, more to get themselves some much-needed cash than anything else. "Seriously, you ate the food?!" The unofficial and self-proclaimed leader of the group, Jessie glared at her two partners, James and Meowth, who had guilty and nervous expressions on their faces.

"Well, we haven't eaten anything good in a while," James feebly attempted to defend their actions, but of course it simply boiled down to the fact that they were hungry and the food they were preparing was simply far too tempting.

At that, Jessie's hair-trigger temper was set off. "I don't care if you're starving! We are supposed to serve our customers, not ourselves!" The duo she was yelling at huddled together from the woman's fury, quivering in fear.

Before Jessie's tirade could go any further, a cough was heard at the counter, catching their attention. Standing there was a man wearing a heavy trench coat, hat and sunglasses all in black, who didn't seem at all happy after having seen their actions. "And you wonder why you're never promoted," He spoke with cold contempt, taking off his shades to reveal dark gray eyes.

The trio recognized him immediately. He was Team Rocket's newest Executive, having risen through the ranks at an incredibly impressive rate. The three of them quickly got their act together to greet their superior. "Luther, oh ah, what a pleasant surprise!" James said nervously, hoping that he would ignore what had just occurred. "What brings you to Sinnoh on this fi-"

He was met with a hand in his face. "Save it, you three morons are already on thin enough ice as it is, so don't even think about trying to test my patience." The trio immediately shut up and stood at attention. "Now then, you three are being reassigned." Luther pulled out a folder and handed it to Jessie.

"Reassigned ta what exactly?" the talking Scratch Cat Pokémon asked.

Meowth's question only brought an eye roll to Luther's face. It was well known how much he detested the three of them. "It's all in the folder, but since I'm not at all sure that any of you can actually read, I'll just tell you." He had an icy deadpan tone as he thought of how they seemed dedicated to inventing new ways to screw up. "After the League, you three are to report to Kalos in order to disrupt the operations of a growing organization there that could be a threat to our goals." The trio nodded as Luther turned to take his leave, but then he turned back around to deliver a death glare to the three who couldn't help but take a small step back in fear, "Oh, one last thing. Giovanni has made it abundantly clear that if you three waste any more resources trying to catch him a Pikachu he doesn't want, well let's just say you would be lucky to be selected to serve as target practice for our Pokémon."

Terror spread over their faces as they pictured it. "B-but, what about us stopping Team Galactic?" Jessie pleaded.

Her words only seemed to anger the man further. "We know the report you gave us was false." He pulled out another folder from his trench coat and slammed it onto the counter. "We have someone within the International Police who verified the truth of what actually occurred. The boss was absolutely livid that you would dare to call yourselves loyal members of Team Rocket and then lie to his face."

The three gulped as they moved back even more, picturing the anger on the boss's face. "We… we didn't mean-" James tried to explain, but once again Luther would have none of it.

"Did I say you could speak?" It was clear that Luther's already strained patience was wearing thin and in a terrifyingly calm tone added. "You three are the absolute worst members of any criminal organization that I have ever encountered. You will report to me from now on and under no circumstances will you ever be allowed to contact Giovanni, as far as he is concerned the three of you no longer exist, and if at any point I so much as suspect that you are not doing your job properly, I will not hesitate to toss you aside like the garbage you are and let you rot in prison for the rest of your miserable lives, assuming you even live that long." With that said, Luther put his sunglasses back on as he left the three fearing for their lives, and for the first time Jessie, James, and Meowth regretted ever joining Team Rocket.

Later that evening, Serena and Ash sat together enjoying dinner as they talked a bit more about each other's adventures and Ash couldn't help but stare at Serena completely dumbfounded after what she had just told him. "Wait, you seriously thought that he might have been right?"

Serena shook her head. "No, I was worried that N might have been right," she clarified. "Turns out his so-called father was a real monster who raised him around nothing but horribly abused Pokémon so that he truly believed all trainers were terrible to their partners." She left out the part where she had let it slip that she could directly understand Pokéspeak, which along with a handful of other things had just about shattered N's whole worldview. "In the end, he had a change of heart and helped us stop his father's insane plot to take over Unova using Reshiram and Zekrom."

Ash was clearly fascinated. "Do you know where he is now?"

"He flew off with the two Legendary Dragons and I haven't heard from him since." Serena would never forget the words N had spoken to her that day. He had waxed philosophically about the truth behind the actual relationship between humans and Pokémon and wondered which ideals would help improve that relationship to be the best it possibly can be and as he left had said that while he would do his best to find those answers, he had hoped she would do so as well. "After that, aside from this one weird run-in with Team Galactic, I haven't really encountered any other organizations like Team Plasma during my travels.

Serena's knowing smile caused Ash to chuckle as he already told her about his various encounters with Team Rocket who kept trying to steal his Pikachu and other rare Pokémon to try and take over the world, not to mention his battles against Team Aqua, and Team Magma who respectively wanted to use Kyogre to flood the continents and Groudon to dry up the oceans and then there was the whole thing with Team Galactic, whose nihilistic leader wanted to use Palkia and Dialga to literally rewrite reality into a place without spirit or emotion. "Hey Serena, you mind telling me a bit about Kalos?"

Serena looked at Ash slightly confused. "Haven't I told you about it before?" She remembered that their letters to each other had them sharing bits of information about their home regions, well more so from Serena's end, having already been to Kanto herself.

Ash shrugged, "Well, yeah, but I want to know even more about it. Like, what are the people and Pokémon like and other stuff."

Serena thought about what else she could tell him, unaware of the real reason Ash was asking about the region. After he had become aware of his feelings, he had started thinking about going to Kalos with Serena. Clemont apparently had to return shortly, and after a fight with Bonnie, he revealed that Serena was planning on heading home as well. Ash figured he could visit and maybe even travel the region with her.

"Well, as far as I know, Kalos is actually the world's oldest surviving monarchy, though these days the royal family is mostly just symbolic with whoever's on the throne just making sure things continue to run smoothly. In fact, this year is the region's three-thousandth anniversary and there is going to be a massive trimillennial celebration on the Queen Grandmother's one-hundredth birthday." After a moment's hesitation and self-debate, Serena decided to add "I'm actually a member of the royal family myself thanks to my dad."

Ash's eyes went wide in surprise as he almost choked on his food. "You're royalty?!" He managed, beating on his chest momentarily to help his food get down.

"Kinda, but it doesn't really matter much to me, since I grew up in a small town far removed from royal life. I'm not even sure any of them outside my father know I exist." Serena took a bite out of one of the Poffins that the Pokémon Center served. "As far as I am concerned, I'm just a girl from Vaniville Town."

Aegislash, who had been silently standing guard throughout the meal clearly wasn't in agreement with that statement. _"But Mistress, you have all the potential to be a true queen."_

Serena rolled her eyes at this. She knew it was pointless to argue with the Royal Sword Pokémon on this, especially considering just how close she had come to the Kalosian throne. As it turns out, her father was the current King's older brother, and so at one point had been heir to the throne himself, but when her grandfather King Reginald was diagnosed with terminal cancer, her father who was widely known to have always considered the position of monarch to be pointless and devoid of the power necessary to actually help people had elected to formally renounce his royal titles and claim to the throne, which considering his attitude towards it surprised just about no one. Though as he had failed to mention any potential children he may have in his official declaration, the timing, by sheer chance, was such that had he delayed the effective time of his renouncement by a mere three hours, Serena would by right, be the true Queen of Kalos.

At least these days she would be, thanks to a constitutional amendment that around a hundred-and-seven years ago allowed Serena's illegitimately born great-great-grandmother to ascend to the throne as Queen Josephine the Second after a plague had devastated the rest of the royal family. Had her father chosen to wait, she could single-handedly trigger a constitutional crisis by suing for the throne if she wanted to, and even if she chose not to, her descendants one day could, assuming Serena didn't also renounce her claim.

However, the laws of succession were crystal clear, and as things stood, since her father didn't wait, Serena wasn't in line. However, with what she knew about her uncle King Alexandre the Sixth, she wouldn't be surprised if he one day offered to make her an actual princess as compensation for having "stolen" her birthright. Something that Aegislash would no doubt pressure her into accepting, after all when she first ran into him as a Honedge, rather than battle and/or befriend him like she usually did, he just straight up swore his eternal loyalty to her, having apparently felt her connection to the royal family, or some other such nonsense.

"You know, you never told me about your father," Ash recalled her talking about her mother, her cousin, and her various Pokémon friends in her many letters over the years, but never once did she mention anything about her dad or his side of Serena's family. "Doesn't he live with your mom?"

Serena shook her head at this. "Ash, my parents weren't married when they had me." Despite the change in the law, there was still a minor stigma against children like Serena, her great-great-grandmother's critics used to call her "Josephine the Bastard" and though things had improved greatly since then, it still gave other kids yet another thing they could make fun of her for. "I was born out of wedlock."

"So that's why you never told me about him." Serena gave Ash a nod in confirmation. Ash knew that his dad was rarely home. However, that was mostly due to his job and unlike Serena, he was born a little after his parents had gotten married. Now that he thought about it though, Serena kind of implied it in her letters. "So if you don't mind me asking, who is he?"

"Lysandre Gabena," Serena replied. Ash stared at her blankly, clearly having no idea who she was talking about. Serena was honestly surprised when she looked at Ash's oblivious face. "The owner of Lysandre Labs? Famously passionate philanthropist and humanitarian? The inventor of the Holo Caster?" Ash shrugged dumbly. "One of the Interregional Pokémon League sponsors?" She added, desperately hoping that Ash would get it.

That did it, Ash remembered now, he didn't really consider it important at the time but Lysandre had made a noteworthy appearance at the Indigo Conference after making a rather generous donation to the world's oldest Pokémon League. "Wait, you're his daughter?"

Serena nodded. "Yeah, but not many know about it." While there were rumors that her mother, the famous Rhyhorn racer had been in a relationship with Lysandre, who at that point was still the Prince of Lumiose, most of the fuss surrounding her birth actually came about due to her miraculous recovery from what by all rights should have been a terminal illness, to the point that the potential identity of her father had been all but forgotten and even that was drowned out in the news by King Reginald's then-impending abdication due to his own terminal diagnosis as well as her father's decision to renounce his royal status. Now the truth about her parentage was only known by those who worked closely with Lysandre and certain members of Serena's maternal family.

The two of them then ate in silence for a little while before Ash turned to Serena. "Hey, Serena, would you mind if I joined you, Bonnie and Clemont when you head back to Kalos?" Serena's face lit up at this. Ash wanted to come back with her to Kalos!

Ash's question did not go unnoticed. Nearby, Gardevoir, ever the romantic, had a dreamy look upon hearing this, picturing the two heading off together to the region of love, and Braixen had a smile on her face, legitimately happy for her honorary sister. "S-sure A-Ash, I would love it if you came." Serena stammered.

"Excuse me." The two turned to see Nurse Joy standing nearby. "Ash Ketchum, there's a call for you."

Ash turned back to Serena with a slightly apologetic look. "I'll be right back."

As he got up and left, the nurse turned to Serena and gave her a smile. "You know, I think it's rather sweet that you and your boyfriend are competing together in the League."

The nurse's words caused Serena's face to turn red like a Tamato Berry. _'Do we really look like a couple?'_ Serena looked at her Pokémon who all gave her a knowing look.

Meanwhile, Ash stood in front of the video caller as Professor Oak appeared on the screen. "Why hello, Ash. I see you're doing well." The elderly Professor gave Ash a friendly smile.

"You bet, Professor, I got through the preliminaries no problem!" Ash said excitedly. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well, Ash, I could tell you, but how about I show you instead?" Oak moved to the side as Charizard's face showed itself on the screen. Ash's face lit up as he saw his pseudo-dragon.

"Charizard, buddy!" The Flame Pokémon smiled at Ash. The two were clearly happy to see each other again and Oak couldn't help from smiling himself.

"You said you wanted to use all your Pokémon for the League so I figured I might as well call Liza up and have her send Charizard over," Oak explained. Ash had to admit it was definitely a good idea, with someone using a Darkrai, having a heavy hitter like Charizard who had defeated an Articuno and had even held his own for a little while against an impossibly strong Entei would be a major advantage. Oak turned to Charizard with a knowing look. "Liza told me that you've been a little bored lately, I suppose the Sinnoh League would be a good change of pace and a little more to your liking." Charizard roared in approval.

"Thanks, Professor." Ash turned to one of his oldest friends, "You ready to take on the best the Sinnoh League has to throw at us?" Charizard gave him a thumbs up with his claw as he growled in agreement. The Fire and Flying-type couldn't wait to battle alongside his trainer just like old times.

A little later that evening, Ash stood outside the Pokémon Center as he tossed the Poké Ball he had in his hand. In a flash, Charizard materialized with a mighty roar, kicking up a strong breeze as he flapped his wings. After the pseudo-dragon's display of power, he gave Ash a light Flamethrower to the face in greeting. When he was done, Ash's face was covered in a thin layer of soot. "Good to see you too, pal." Charizard roared in agreement.

Rubbing the soot from his face, while Pikachu greeted the Flame Pokémon after having escaped the Flamethrower he knew had been coming, Ash thought about how fortunate it was that Professor Oak had thought to call up Charizard. "Hey Charizard, you up for fighting a Darkrai?" Charizard looked at his trainer with his approximation of a raised eyebrow. "There's a trainer here who has entered the League with a Darkrai, and as far as I know it has never lost."

Charizard's gaze became one of raw determination as he got what Ash was telling him. There was an undefeated Pokémon here in the tournament, a Mythical one no less, and Ash was hoping that he would be game to take it on. Out of all of Ash's Pokémon, he was arguably the strongest, though both Sceptile and Pikachu could give him a run for his money and admittingly he still had yet to meet the majority of Ash's Sinnoh team, still he probably was the best bet for taking out such a difficult opponent.

"So you have a Charizard?" Ash turned to see Paul standing there, looking at the Fire and Flying-type. He had watched the display the Flame Pokémon had put on upon being called out and though Paul didn't want to admit it, he was impressed, this Charizard was strong, very strong, perhaps even the strongest one he had ever seen.

"Yeah, he's been training at the Charicific Valley." Ash tried to read Paul as the purple-haired teen looked over the three of them, but the Sinnoh native gave away nothing for Ash to figure out.

"I take it then, that he's your answer to the Darkrai?" Over the last few hours, Paul had noticed more than a few trainers trying desperately to come up with a counter to Darkrai with some planning to rely on type advantage, while others, Ash apparently included were electing to go for raw power, and if Ash's Charizard's display and the fact that he had trained in the Charicific Valley was anything to go by, Ash would have a much better chance than most at taking down the Pitch-Black Pokémon. "You shouldn't be worrying too much about the Darkrai." Paul's statement caused Ash, and his two Pokémon to give the cold trainer a confused expression.

"What makes you say that?" Ash asked, genuinely perplexed, since he knew quite well from personal experience just how insanely powerful most Legendary and Mythical Pokémon were.

Paul turned his head to the Pokémon Center. "Because it's not the biggest threat in this tournament."

Paul's words only confused Ash, Charizard, and Pikachu further as they wondered just who he could possibly be referring to, taking a wild guess, Ash asked "Is it you?" as Paul turned back to him and shook his head, Ash added, "Then who is it?"

Paul's eyes narrowed. "You should know, they're hiding in plain sight." With that, Paul walked away from the three of them and past the building, his eyes catching sight of the Shiny Gardevoir that the Kalosian girl had with her, spotting the pendant around the Pokémon's neck.

His mind turned to the conversation he had had with her earlier. She had only claimed to have seen the higher form of evolution, yet Paul had his suspicions that she was withholding information, The pendant around her neck had a gem unlike any he had ever seen and as he looked at a similar gem around her Pokémon's neck, he was convinced that his suspicions were correct.

Everyone thought Darkrai was what they should be worried about and he couldn't fault them for that. Seeing a Darkrai as a potential opponent would make any trainer worth their salt focus on how they might be able to beat it should they have to face it. Even he was formulating a strategy to take it down. But in reality, it was the girl from Kalos and her mysterious higher evolution that everyone should be worried about. He was going to have to call his brother up and get him to send over Drapion in case he had to go up against her Gardevoir, but even then he didn't know for sure if that plan would work, after all, it's often said that it's better the devil you know than the devil you don't and while Darkrai was powerful, it was a known quantity, but this girl from Kalos, Ash's apparent new friend, she was a complete unknown.

Serena looked at her surroundings, finding herself in total darkness. Walking forward, she started to hear a soft melody accompanied by a light until suddenly she found herself in a secluded clearing within a magnificent bioluminescent forest, and in the center of the clearing was a small clear pond.

A soft breeze blew through the trees in such a way as to create what could only be described as music. As she looked towards the trees surrounding her, she saw images from her past, more than she could possibly see in the amount of time she would ultimately spend looking at them. There were images of her when she was seven playing with Gardevoir back when she was a Ralts along with her mother's two Pokémon and then there were ones of her journey and the friends she made along the way both human and Pokémon. Finally, an image of Ash flew by, bringing a smile to her face as she thought about the man she loved.

A light rippled from the pond, drawing her attention and giving it a soft blue glow. Looking out towards the center of the pond was a small bit of land that certainly was not there a mere ten seconds ago, not that neither time nor space seemed to have much actual meaning in this strange clearing, and standing on the bit of land, illuminated by the glow of the water and the light from the surrounding forest was a Pokémon she had never seen before. At least, she thought it was a Pokémon.

It was humanoid and clearly female with a figure reminiscent of a young woman. She had magnificent multicolored wavy locks of red, green, and blue streaks extending about a quarter of the way down her back, while, her head, neck, shoulders, and most of her upper arms were snow-white in color with the lower arms being red making it appear as though she was wearing opera gloves. There was a large red heart over her chest which when combined with her green lower torso and the seven almost knee-length green flaps reminiscent of a Gardevoir's extending from the creature's waist created the appearance of a fetching strapless dress. Poking out from between the back two straps was a long prehensile tail that started out green at the base before transitioning to blue in the middle and finally to red near the tip. Her legs were also snow-white in color while her feet, lacking visible toes, were mostly blue and created the illusion that she was wearing ballet slippers. However, the detail that caught Serena's attention the most was the large red, blue and green fairy wings emerging from her back, the design of the wings were intricate and beautiful, highly reminiscent of a stained glass window and the translucent nature of the wings and the way they sparkled in the light of the clearing made it honestly seem like they were actually made from crystalline glass and despite their fragile appearance, Serena could tell that they were, in fact, both strong and flexible. The Pokémon took a step forward, walking across the pond as though it was a solid surface, barely making a ripple in the water as she came towards her.

As she got closer, Serena noticed details she hadn't moments ago from the Pokémon's pointy elf-like ears to what looked like a short yet thick layer of very fine fur, which based on its lustrous visual texture greatly resembled and probably felt just like velvet, but none of that held Serena's attention for long as she couldn't help but notice just how human-like the Pokémon's face was, specifically how much it looked like her own. They even had the same crystal blue eyes. _"Who are you?"_ Serena could feel an extreme sense of familiarity as she looked at the Pokémon, as though she knew this being as well as she thought she knew herself, but for the life of her, Serena could not figure out why.

The Pokémon simply gestured for Serena to look down and as she did she found that she was now standing in the center of the pond, on top of the water as if she had been the one who had walked towards the strange being rather than the other way around with the bit of land in the middle now gone, and the water, which had previously been crystal clear and glowing a soft blue had now changed to resemble the surface of a mirror, but what had caught her attention was their reflections. Serena's was that of the Pokémon, while the Pokémon's was of Serena. Looking back up, the Pokémon moved closer, or Serena moved closer to the Pokémon, it was impossible to tell which, but regardless, with the two now standing no more than two feet apart, the Pokémon placed her right hand over Serena's heart and in the girl's own voice asked, _"Do you not recognize yourself?"_

Immediately after hearing this, a single word escaped her lips in a near whisper. _"Sereginia."_

With that, Serena shot awake, breathing heavily. She could remember all of it. Her dream was so vivid she could remember all of it in exact detail, including the word. "Sereginia." She blinked, it honestly felt strange saying that. "Sere, ginia, Sereginia." She could feel as if she was missing something as she said those words. "What does Sereginia mean?"

She froze as her mind started to process what had just happened. She had said the word, yet what she had heard was reminiscent of what she heard when she heard Pokémon speak, something that she had not heard come out of her lips for over eight years. "Wha…" She was practically speechless at this. "I wonder…"

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself, and with her mind focusing hard on what would actually be coming out of her mouth quietly said _"My name is Serena Yvonne."_ Opening her eyes, she let this sink in, she had always known that she could speak the Pokémon language yet this was the first time as far as she could remember that she had been able to figure out what regular human beings heard when she spoke in what Professor Sycamore had called her quote-unquote "native language".

Getting out of bed, she walked to the window and saw her reflection in it, for a moment, she saw the strange Pokémon from her dream, but after she blinked all she saw was herself looking back at her. Now that she thought about it, the Unown glyphs on the shaft of her Key Stone pendant when translated actually spelled out "Sereginia'' and though she was confused by it at the time, she never actually put much thought into it, not even bothering to say the word out loud, but now she wondered if the reason she could speak and understand the Pokémon language and even use Pokémon moves was due to this Sereginia. _'What if I am Sereginia?'_ She tried dismissing the thought, yet found herself unable to do so.

As scary as it sounded using the name to refer to herself felt… normal, completely natural as if it was a more fitting name than the one she was born with. It was almost as though the name Serena was nothing more than a nickname that people would give to their Pokémon…

Serena, having always wondered why she could do the things that she could, finally asked herself a question that had always been at the back of her mind, _'What am I?'_

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Current Members of the Kalosian Royal Family in Order of Succession**  
Here is a bit of supplementary material. For my convenience, all dates listed below are in the Kalosian Calendar, and though not every one of the below characters is guaranteed to make an appearance in this story, most of them will probably at least get a mention. Oh and if anyone notices any inconsistencies please let me know and I will endeavor to fix them.

**Queen Azrael XVIII, The Queen Grandmother**  
Full Name: Azrael Gabriella Danielle  
Born: August 14th, 2900 (Age 99)  
Reign: September 6th, 2942 - August 15th, 2965 (109th Monarch)  
Parents: Lord Elroy Delacour and Queen Josephine II  
Consort: Baron Nathanael le Fleur (m. June 21st, 2926; d. March 7th, 2986)  
Children:  
• King Reginald  
• Princess Ruby of Kalos, Duchess of Laverre  
Titles:  
• 08/14/2900 - 09/06/2942: Her Royal Highness The Princess of Lumiose  
• 09/06/2942 - 08/15/2965: Her Majesty The Queen  
• 08/15/2965 - 06/23/2984: Her Majesty Queen Azrael the Eighteenth, The Queen Mother  
• 06/23/2984 - present: Her Majesty Queen Azrael the Eighteenth, The Queen Grandmother

**Queen Lorraine, The Queen Mother**  
Full Name: Lorraine Morgan Lafayette  
Born: June 2nd, 2929 (Age 70)  
Parents: André Lafayette, 21st Earl Lafayette and Isabella Morgan  
Spouse: King Reginald (m. April 5th, 2953; d. October 8th, 2984)  
Children:  
• Dr. Lysandre Gabena  
• King Alexandre VI  
• Prince Frederic of Kalos, Duke of Anistar  
Titles:  
• 06/02/2929 - 04/05/2953: Lady Lorraine Morgan Lafayette  
• 04/05/2953 - 08/15/2965: Her Royal Highness The Princess of Lumiose  
• 08/15/2965 - 06/23/2984: Her Majesty The Queen  
• 06/23/2984 - present: Her Majesty Queen Lorraine, The Queen Mother

**King Alexandre VI**  
Full Name: Alexandre Nathanael Reginald  
Born: February 3rd, 2957 (Age 43)  
Reign: June 23rd, 2984 - present (111th Monarch)  
Parents: King Reginald and Lady Lorraine Morgan Lafayette  
Consort: Aelita Rose le Fay (m. February 29th, 2983)  
Children:  
• Isabella, Princess of Lumiose  
• Princess Allie of Kalos  
Titles:  
• 02/03/2957 - 08/15/2965: His Royal Highness Prince Alexandre of Lumiose  
• 08/15/2965 - 02/29/2983: His Royal Highness Prince Alexandre of Kalos  
• 02/29/2983 - 05/28/2984: His Royal Highness The Duke of Anistar  
• 05/28/2984 - 06/23/2984: His Royal Highness The Prince of Lumiose  
• 06/23/2984 - present: His Majesty The King  
His Majesty Alexandre the Sixth, by the Grace of Xerneas and the Mercy of Yveltal, King of the Crowned Republic of Kalos, Lord of Justice, and Defender of the Innocent

**Queen Aelita**  
Full Name: Aelita Rose le Fay  
Born: July 7th, 2957 (Age 42)  
Parents: Louis le Fay and Allie Stevenson  
Spouse: King Alexandre VI (m. February 29th, 2983)  
Children:  
• Isabella, Princess of Lumiose  
• Princess Allie of Kalos  
Titles:  
• 07/07/2957 - 02/29/2983: Miss Aelita le Fay  
• 02/29/2983 - 05/28/2984: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Anistar  
• 05/28/2984 - 06/23/2984: Her Royal Highness The Princess of Lumiose  
• 06/23/2984 - present: Her Majesty The Queen  
Her Majesty Aelita Rose le Fay, Queen Consort of the Crowned Republic of Kalos

**1.) Isabella, Princess of Lumiose**  
Full Name: Isabella Azrael Adora Ruby  
Born: January 5th, 2985 (Age 15)  
Parents: King Alexandre VI and Aelita Rose le Fay  
Spouse: N/A  
Children: N/A  
Titles: 01/05/2985 - present: Her Royal Highness The Princess of Lumiose  
Upon ascending to the throne, depending on her chosen regnal name, she would either become "Ruby VI", "Adora V", "Azrael XIX" or more likely would simply remain "Isabella", though her successors could render her "Isabella I".

**2.) Princess Allie of Kalos**  
Full Name: Allie Mavis Celina Josephine  
Born: November 10th, 2986 (Age 13)  
Parents: King Alexandre VI and Aelita Rose le Fay  
Spouse: N/A  
Children: N/A  
Titles: 11/10/2986 - present: Her Royal Highness Princess Allie of Kalos

**3.) Prince Frederic of Kalos, Duke of Anistar**  
Full Name: Frederic Benjamin Lucus  
Born: July 26th, 2959 (Age 40)  
Parents: King Reginald and Lady Lorraine Morgan Lafayette  
Spouse: N/A  
Children: N/A  
Titles:  
• 07/26/2959 - 08/15/2965: His Royal Highness Prince Frederic of Lumiose  
• 08/15/2965 - 06/25/2984: His Royal Highness Prince Frederic of Kalos  
• 06/25/2984 - present: His Royal Highness The Duke of Anistar

**4.) Princess Ruby of Kalos, Duchess of Laverre**  
Full Name: Ruby Josephine  
Born: December 30th, 2929 (Age 70)  
Parents: Baron Nathanael le Fleur and Queen Azrael XVIII  
Spouse: Robert Stephen Richards I (m. May 12th, 2959; d. January 16th, 2960)  
Children:  
• Prince Robert, Earl of Gloire  
• Princess Danielle, The Lady Colbert  
Titles:  
• 12/30/2929 - 09/06/2942: Her Royal Highness Princess Ruby of Lumiose  
• 09/06/2942 - 05/12/2959: Her Royal Highness Princess Ruby of Kalos  
• 05/12/2959 - present: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Laverre

**5.) Prince Robert, Earl of Gloire**  
Full Name: Robert Stephen Richards II  
Born: August 9th, 2960 (Age 39)  
Parents: Robert Stephen Richards I and Princess Ruby of Kalos, Duchess of Laverre  
Spouse: Amity Cassandra Martin (m. April 18th, 2991)  
Children: Tony Gabena  
Titles:  
• 08/09/2960 - 04/18/2991: His Royal Highness Prince Robert of Laverre  
• 04/18/2991 - present: His Royal Highness The Earl of Gloire

**Amity, Countess of Gloire**  
Full Name: Amity Cassandra Martin  
Born: September 25th, 2960 (Age 39)  
Parents: Victor Martin and Chloé Laflamme  
Spouse: Prince Robert, Earl of Gloire (m. April 18th, 2991)  
Children: Tony Gabena  
Titles:  
• 09/25/2960 - 04/18/2991: Miss Amity Martin  
• 04/18/2991 - present: Her Royal Highness the Countess of Gloire

**6.) Tony Gabena**  
Full Name: Anthony Nathanael Gabena  
Born: September 4th, 2992 (Age 7)  
Parents: Prince Robert, Earl of Gloire and Amity Cassandra Martin  
Spouse: N/A  
Children: N/A  
Titles: 09/04/2992 - present: Master Tony Gabena

**7.) Princess Danielle, The Lady Colbert**  
Full Name: Danielle Celina Ruby  
Born: August 9th, 2960 (Age 39)  
Parents: Robert Stephen Richards I and Princess Ruby of Kalos, Duchess of Laverre  
Spouse: Prime Minister Felix Colbert (m. March 26th, 2996)  
Children: Zoey Colbert  
Titles:  
• 08/09/2960 - 03/26/2996: Her Royal Highness Princess Danielle of Laverre  
• 03/26/2996 - present: Her Royal Highness Princess Danielle, The Lady Colbert

**Prime Minister Felix Colbert**  
Full Name: Felix Travis Colbert  
Born: April 21st, 2959 (Age 40)  
Parents: Travis Colbert and Darcy Bellegrade  
Spouse: Princess Danielle, The Lady Colbert (m. March 26th, 2996)  
Children: Zoey Colbert  
Titles:  
• 04/21/2959 - 01/01/2985: Mr. Felix Colbert  
• 01/01/2985 - 01/01/2990: Member of Parliament, Senator Felix Colbert  
• 01/01/2990 - 08/12/2992: Chairman of the Senate, The Honorable Felix Colbert  
• 08/12/2992 - 01/01/2995: President of Parliament, The Right Honorable Felix Colbert  
• 01/01/2995 - present: His Excellency Prime Minister Felix Colbert of the Crowned Republic of Kalos

**8.) Zoey Colbert**  
Full Name: Zoey Azrael Colbert  
Born: December 20th, 2996 (Age 3)  
Parents: Prime Minister Felix Colbert and Princess Danielle, The Lady Colbert  
Spouse: N/A  
Children: N/A  
Titles: 12/20/2998 - present: Miss Zoey Colbert

**Dr. Lysandre Gabena**  
Full Name: Lysandre André Elroy Gabena, Ph.D  
Born: October 12th, 2954 (Age 45)  
Parents: King Reginald and Lady Lorraine Morgan Lafayette  
Spouse: N/A  
Children: Serena Yvonne (Daughter via Grace Yvonne)  
Titles:  
• 10/12/2952 - 08/15/2965: His Royal Highness Prince Lysandre of Lumiose  
• 08/15/2965 - 05/28/2984: His Royal Highness The Prince of Lumiose  
• 05/28/2984 - 10/17/2998: Dr. Lysandre Gabena  
• 10/17/2998 - present: Dr. Lysandre Gabena, Leader of Team Flare  
Had he taken the throne, he would have become "Lysandre III", "André VI" or potentially "Elroy I" though with what his future has in store there will probably never be another "Lysandre" within the royal family, and the name would likely fall out of fashion in Kalos in general.

**Serena Yvonne / Sereginia**  
Full Name: Serena Yvonne / Sereginia  
Born: May 28, 2984 (Age 15)  
Parents: Grace Yvonne and Dr. Lysandre Gabena (and **_*spoiler*_** spiritually)  
Spouse: N/A  
Children: Popplio (honorary daughter)  
Titles: 05/28/2984 - present: Miss Serena Yvonne  
Let's just say that she will eventually gain some pretty interesting titles of her own, however, had she ascended to the throne she would have become "Serena I", assuming an eventual "Serena II" down the line. She also lacks a middle name mostly because Grace simply couldn't find one she liked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it chapter five, I will be honest out of every chapter in the first arc, this was the one I was most excited to write and release since this is where I reveal not only a bit about my version of the Kalosian royal family and Serena's connection to them but more importantly my redesign of Sereginia, as you can tell I chose to go with a somewhat traditional modern fairy design but I didn't want to follow that model too closely so I added a few additional details that would not be considered traditional. For those of you who have read "United Destiny: The Hero and the Hybrid over on FF.net and know who Serena's Pokémon father is, you can probably guess which member of Sereginia's Pokémon family she takes after the most though I would like to note that I did take care to add in some details from the others, but you'll just have to wait and see for those.
> 
> Now I hope you enjoyed the bit of supplemental info I included after that final scene, now for a little bit of further context about the above list, there are almost currently other more distant relatives descending from the Queen Grandmother's late sibling(s) not to mention AZ who of course was Kalos' first ruler, with most of those relatives being in line for the throne, with some of them likely possessing royal/noble titles of their own but including them would require a lot more work on my part plus none of those individuals would really be relevant. Also, before any of you ask, yes I have in fact created a full list of Kalosian monarchs dating all the way back to AZ 3000 years prior, and no I will not be releasing that list just yet. Anyway, thanks for reading, have a nice day, and I hope to see you again soon.


	6. Lysandre

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FF.net Release Date: 02-27-2021  
> AO3 Release Date: 03-06-2021
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any other franchise which I may or may not use. I only own the fanmade Pokémon included in this story and even then I am using the name and base concept of "Sereginia" with permission of the author of "United Destiny: The Hero and the Hybrid", however, while this is something of a rewrite, it is my story so I will be putting my own spin on the idea and some things will be quite different once things get going.

Liza moved carefully down the old cavern with a flaming torch in hand. Around her were the graves of long dead Charizard. According to her late grandfather’s journal, he had left the ‘Stones of Bonding’ as he had called them within one of the makeshift crypts. Charla who was following behind her gave a growl of unease. Liza turned to her old friend and had to sigh. Charizard in general had a deep respect for the dead. Whether it be for their own kind or a fallen foe a Charizard would mourn them, and walking into a crypt in the Valley was only ever done to bury the dead, never to attempt at digging something up.

Liza gave her an understanding look. “If you want, you can go back.” Charla was tempted to do so and almost did but she strengthened her resolve and gave Liza a reassuring roar. “Ok, then it shouldn’t be much further.”

The two continued their descent down the cavern with only the torch and Charla’s tail flame to light their way. Finally at the bottom, they stepped into a part of the cave that was devoid of the typical signs of a Charizard burial. Instead before them was a small but heavy stone box. Liza brushed the decades of dust off the top to reveal a carving of a Charizard with three horns on its head, larger wings, a more streamlined body and what appeared to be a set of smaller wings on it’s arms. 

“I guess this is it.” Liza turned to Charla who knew what to do. Walking up the pseudo-dragon gripped and with a mighty heave tossed the lid off the box. Liza moved her torch over it and saw a chained amulet just the right size for a Charizard to wear with a large marble-like stone inserted into the center. With it was a human sized metal wristband with a similar but noticeably smaller stone inserted into it.

Liza picked them both up speechless. All her life she thought her grandfather was just telling stories about these. As a child, she had been led to believe that Charizard and a few other Pokémon had an additional evolutionary form. Then as she began to grow up she learned that wasn’t the case, but whenever she would confront her grandfather on it he would just say ‘Yet the keys to it are the Stones of Bonding, Liza.’ A tear ran down her cheek as she thought about him.

Putting both items in her bag, she looked at Charla. “I’ll have to give Solana a call to have the Rangers cover for us.” She held up her torch and smirked. “Well girl, it looks like we are heading to the Sinnoh Region. Let’s see what our old friends Ash and Charizard can do with these.”

The League’s first round was well underway, the first several battles having already wrapped up. One in particular had only lasted about two minutes where Tobias proved that not even an Ariados with the ability Insomnia was anywhere close to a match for Darkrai who proceeded to absolutely wreck the Bug and Poison-type before demolishing his opponent’s other two Pokémon without suffering so much as a single hit. Watching a recap of the so-called “battle” was Charles Goodshow, the elderly head of the Pokémon League who watched the Mythical Pokémon with great interest.

“I have no idea how he managed to do it.” Catching a powerful Pokémon was never an easy feat, but catching a Pokémon like Darkrai was something that only a handful had the means too. Furthermore, he had used a basic Poké Ball to do it. “He sure has become the fan favorite.”

Next to him, Cynthia, the reigning Champion of Sinnoh looked on with her arms crossed in thought. “Yes and he’s making sure that everyone would be focused solely on his Darkrai.” She had to hand it to him, having everyone focus on Darkrai would mean that no one would be prepared for his other Pokémon and with one of them being the Mythical Dark-type there is no telling what else could be on his team.

A knock was heard on the door as the League President’s secretary walked in. “Sir, there’s someone here who would like to see you.” This piqued Goodshow’s interest for a second and upon giving the go ahead to send in the visitor he couldn’t help but be surprised at who it was.

“Lysandre? Well, color me amazed I thought you were too busy to attend the Sinnoh League this year. If it’s not a bother, what may I ask, changed your mind?”

The burly philanthropist and former Prince of Lumiose gave the old man a friendly smile before turning to the screen showing the many first round battles. “My daughter is competing and I came to cheer her on like any good father should.” Both Cynthia and Goodshow looked at the man in surprise before the old man began to rub his beard clearly remembering something.

“Oh that’s right there was a rumor going around about sixteen years ago that you were in a relationship with that Rhyhorn Racer, what was her name again?” Mr. Goodshow could vaguely picture her in his mind but that’s about it. One of the disadvantages of growing old it seemed.

“Grace Yvonne,” Lysandre answered, his voice neutral, conveying neither fondness for the mother of his child nor contempt towards the woman who did her best to keep him from said child. Goodshow snapped his fingers as he finally remembered her.

That’s right now I remember, she was quite the racer back in the day, five time Kalos Champion, and from what I can remember, twice came within half a horn of the World Championship.” The other two stared at him causing the old man to blush and rub the back of his neck, “I’m a fan of the sport.”

“So I take it then that Serena Yvonne is your daughter?” Cynthia asked having previously met the girl in Crown City remembering her as the one of the very few people she has ever met to be capable of using Mega Evolution who was not already a member of a League.

Lysandre met the question with a nod and fatherly smile, “That is correct.” He turned his attention back to the head of the League. “I know I have a VIP box but if you don’t mind I would like to watch from the stands for my daughter’s first match.”

The old man gave the humanitarian a friendly smile. “Sure I know I would do the same if it was my grandson who was in the tournament.” With that Lysandre took his leave, and as the man walked out Cynthia’s gaze hardened into a glare. The Sinnoh Champion had never admitted it but unlike just about everyone else who knew him, she never once trusted Lysandre or his so-called moments of extreme passion. Something about him just rubbed her the wrong way and her recent experience dealing with Cyrus who like Lysandre had at one point been a well-known philanthropist and businessman had turned that feeling into a strong sneaking suspicion. “Cynthia, are you alright dear?” Mr. Goodshow asked snapping the Champion out of her thoughts.

“Oh sorry about that, I was just lost in thought.” She had a slight blush as she rubbed the back of her head before getting control of herself, yet in the back of her mind that bad feeling never quite went away.

Ash raced into Stadium Three having already finished his first round match against Nando. After finding Clemont and Bonnie, he quickly joined the siblings, taking a seat next to Bonnie as she and Clemont waited for Serena’s match to start. Bonnie picked up Popplio handing her to Ash. “Here, can you hold Popplio for me?”

“Aww, sure.” He took the Sea Lion Pokémon into his hands as the young Water-type shot him a smile. Ash returned the grin before adding, “What’d you say we cheer on Serena together, okay?”

“Pop, pop, pop!” Popplio’s flippers spread out in joyful agreement with Ash. She was going to cheer on her mama with the man her mama loved. Pikachu hopped down to the Sea Lion to greet the young Pokémon.

“Pi, pika.” Popplio quickly wrapped her flippers around him in greeting. “Pi-ka...” Pikachu felt like if she squeezed any harder he would be crushed and was barely able to suppress a reflexive Thunderbolt. For a moment he wondered what Serena had been feeding her.

Out the corner of his eye, Ash watched as someone walked up to him. “Is this seat taken?” Ash turned to see a burly man with his hands in his pockets.

“No, it's not.” The man gave a nod before he took a seat, crossing his legs to get comfortable.

Bonnie’s eyes went wide as she pulled her brother to see who it was. Clemont’s mouth flew open in shock and after a few moments managed to say “You’re Lysandre Gabena, founder and CEO of Lysandre Labs!” Lysandre turned to the blonde-haired boy and shot him a smile.

“Indeed I am. I see you have heard of me, as I have you Clemont Citron, Leader of the Lumiose Gym.” Lysandre’s words caused Clemont to nearly lose control of himself. As an inventor, he had dreamed of getting backing from a place as prestigious as Lysandre Labs. Ash couldn’t help but turn to Clemont in surprise upon the discovery that he was a Gym Leader. “By the way, the robot you left in charge of the Gym appears to have malfunctioned. According to the news, it started shocking anyone who lost to it as well as those without at least four badges before expelling them from Prism Tower from dangerous heights.”

Clemont winced upon being reminded of that. “Yeah, I know. I am heading back to Kalos after the Conference to fix that.” He didn't know why Clembot was acting like that. He was sure that his CPU was independent and resistant to glitches. ‘Maybe his CPU got damaged in a Gym Battle?’

“So you’re Serena’s father?” Lysandre looked at the raven-haired boy before giving him a smile. Bonnie and Clemont were once again surprised. Serena rarely talked about her family outside her mother, they did know a bit about her mother’s side especially her cousin but she had never so much as mentioned her father.

“Why yes, she may not have my last name, something her mother was very keen on when she was born.” He had an odd mix of annoyance and understanding in his tone as he said that which caused Ash to wonder just how distant Serena’s parents actually were. “But she is still my daughter all the same.” Lysandre was soon surprised when Popplio jumped into his lap.

“Pop, Pop!” The Sea Lion was clearly excited to meet her grandpa.

“Oh, hello there little one.” He turned to Ash. “Yours I take it?” Ash shook his head.

“No, she’s actually Serena’s.” At that moment the referee walked on the field indicating that the match was about to begin, and moments later was joined by Serena and her opponent, as Ash cheered her on. “Alright, Serena! Show them what you can do!”

Serena smiled, somehow able to make Ash out among the crowd, though just barely. The honey haired girl then turned her focus to the battle ahead, pushing aside her questions from earlier about herself. Her opponent was a young woman clearly older than her perhaps somewhere in her mid to late twenties who by the expression on her face was rather dismissive of her. “Well, this is going to be over quick.” The woman laughed giving a smug smirk causing Serena to roll her eyes.

The ref turned to the two of them noticing they were ready. “This will be an official match between Serena Yvonne of Vaniville Town and Jessica Star of Castelia City, each side will be allowed three Pokémon and the match ends when all Pokémon on either side are unable to battle, furthermore substitutions will be allowed.” The two locked eyes as Serena’s hands moved to grab one of the six Poké Balls she had on hand.

Jessica tossed her Poké Ball faster then Serena taking point. “Mandibuzz, time to shine!”

“Braviary, go!” Serena yelled out as she tossed the Nest Ball containing the counterpart to Jessica’s Pokémon.

The two appeared in the air and locked eyes with the mutual dislike they held for each other clear on their glaring faces. _“Oh great, one of the flying flags.”_ The Bone Vulture Pokémon spat in distaste.

 _“Real original, barbarian.”_ Braviary rolled his eyes.

“Braviary versus Mandibuzz, battle begin!” The referee raised his hands, signalling the beginning of the match.

Jessica wasted no time to take the first attack. “Mandibuzz, Dark Pulse!”

“Dodge it quick!” Serena countered as Mandibuzz fired a beam of Dark energy at the Valiant Pokémon.

Braviary weaved through the air dodging the energy beam with ease. _“Don’t have to tell me twice!”_

“Mandibuzz, keep it up!” Jessica yelled, resulting in Dark Pulses being fired in rapid succession with Braviary doing his best to dodge in mid-air.

 _“Hold still!”_ Mandibuzz growled in annoyance.

“Counterattack with Hurricane!” Serena commanded as Braviary gave a nod before firing a massive burst of wind impacting the multiple Dark Pulses cancelling them out. Soon the two were in a dogfight overhead with Dark Pulses and Hurricanes either meeting or being dodged. Finally, after what must have been several minutes, both Dark Pulse and Hurricane had managed to land their mark, sending both Pokémon falling.

Both righted themselves in the air. “Brave Bird!” Both trainers yelled as the two dove at speed surrounded by orange flames which turned bright blue when they righted themselves feet from the ground and took aim for the other.

“Toxic!” Jessica yelled, causing Mandibuzz to break off the Flying-type move and rise by a foot only to spit the purple liquid right into Braviary’s face momentarily blinding him and causing him to fall out of Brave Bird and smash into the ground.

“No, Braviary!” Serena exclaimed in alarm as her flier was now poisoned and vulnerable to further attack.

“Finish this with Dark Pulse!” Mandibuzz wasted no time and fired one straight down at the Valiant Pokémon forcing him further into the ground. “Oh well, I guess that’s the end of that. Hey ref! Mind calling it?” Jessica joked with a giggle.

Braviary however, pulled himself up in clear defiance of the pain he was in and the poison coursing through his veins. _“Serena… tell her… I’m going to rip off… her little scavenger’s wings… I’m not done yet!”_

Jessica’s eye twitched at the stubborn fighter. “Dark Pulse now!” Mandibuzz once again fired off a blast of Dark energy but this time Serena had a plan.

“Brave Bird!” The Valiant Pokémon was covered in orange fiery aura which turned blue the moment he took off, shooting into the air so fast all anyone saw was a bright blue blur and was long gone by the time Dark Pulse got to where he had been and when the Bone Vulture Pokémon had figured out what was going on Braviary had changed direction and was heading straight for her.

“Steel Wing now!” 

“Steel Wing as well and then continue on with Brave Bird!”

The Dark and Flying-type’s wings glowed with a metallic sheen and so did Braviary’s under the bright blue flaming aura, however upon contact, Mandibuzz was tossed back having never stood a chance against Braviary’s Brave Bird enhanced Steel Wing.

“Fine,” Jessica snarled, “If that’s how you want to play... Mandibuzz! Use Bra-”

“Crush Claw!” Serena exclaimed, cutting off Jessica’s command, knowing she had to wrap this up quickly given Braviary’s condition and with that the Normal and Flying-type changed direction once again and slammed into Mandibuzz, talons outstretched glowing red underneath the blue glow of Brave Bird.

“Mandibuzz!” Jessica called out in alarm as her Pokémon slammed hard into the ground.

“Finish this with Hurricane!” Serena yelled as Braviary, finally ending Brave Bird gave a bold cry and sent a powerful blast of wind straight at the Bone Vulture. When the dust cleared Mandibuzz, who just moments before had just barely gotten back on her feet was laying on the ground unconscious.

“Mandibuzz is unable to battle! Braviary is the winner!” The referee called as Jessica, in stunned silence, raised Mandibuzz’s Poké Ball and returned her downed Pokémon.

In the stands, Serena’s friends and their Pokémon celebrated “Alright, Serena!” Bonnie yelled out as Dedenne and Snivy joined in, though the former had admittingly slept through at least half the battle.

“That was so cool! The way she combined Brave Bird with Steel Wing and Crush Claw was just awesome!” Ash cheered, wondering how his own Flying-types would fare against such a matchup. He was sure that they were fast enough to keep up with the Valiant Pokémon, but to match both the speed and power Braviary had shown off would be a tall order.

Lysandre petted a celebrating Popplio as a proud smile adorned his face. “Indeed, while to the average person what she just did may seem reckless, considering that Brave Bird does recoil damage and Braviary had already been poisoned, but to the trained eye, it is easy to tell that it was all because of the amount of faith she has in her Pokémon. As always, my daughter’s heart and mind is simply nothing short of beautiful.” His gaze hardened as he looked at Jessica. “Unfortunately, it appears that her opponent is the exact opposite, selfish and full of herself. It would be better if people like that did not exist in this world.”

Popplio looked up at her grandpa a bit confused, but Pikachu however, felt somewhat disturbed upon hearing that. Sure, he did agree that the world would be better off, but he knew that wasn’t how things worked and the way Lysandre had spoken, it was almost like he couldn’t accept the existence of horrible people and that left the Mouse Pokémon with a terrible sense of foreboding.

Ash and the others turned to him as well, having heard his tone. “Oh sorry, I'm known for my rather passionate views and I have a tendency to express them whenever I see such things.” He explained, nodding his head in the direction of Serena’s opponent. The three shrugged, they couldn’t exactly fault someone for expressing their views, especially when said views would actually be rather reasonable if they had been phrased a little differently. Still for Ash, the way the man had actually phrased his words gave him pause as he couldn’t help but wonder if there was some kind of hidden meaning to what the man had said.

Deciding to close the conversation, the four humans and four Pokémon, well three Pokémon as Dedenne had once again decided to take a nap, turned their attention back to the match in front of them.

Serena held Braviary’s Nest Ball in her hands. Despite winning, Braviary was clearly in no shape to continue battling and her instincts as a trainer told her it was best to return him. “Braviary, return!” She held up his Nest Ball as the Valiant Pokémon gave a tired nod. A red flash came from the ball and pulled Braviary back in.

Jessica held on to her next Poké Ball with a smirk. “Switching out already?” She taunted before tossing a Great Ball, “Go, Rhyperior!” releasing a large brownish grey Pokémon partially covered with orange stones and possessed what to Serena was a familiar head.

Serena pulled out an Ultra Ball before tossing it out. “Aegislash, go!” The Royal Sword Pokémon appeared in a flash, confusing his opponent, who had clearly never seen an Aegislash before, a fact supported by Jessica fiddling around with her Pokédex.

 _“And just what are you?”_ The Drill Pokémon asked in a rather condescending tone of voice.

 _“I am Aegislash, defender of kings, you stand in the way of my mistress and for that you must fall.”_ The Steel and Ghost-type exclaimed in a commanding voice.

Up in the stands, Lysandre was pleased with Serena’s choice. “It was smart of her to use Aegislash here, Steel-type moves are super-effective against Rock-types like Rhyperior.”

“But aren’t Steel-types weak to Ground-type attacks?” Ash responded, reminding the burly man of Rhyperior’s primary typing.

“Theoretically, yes.” Lysandre replied.

“Theoretically?” Bonnie asked in confusion.

“Yes, Ground-type attacks can do super effective damage to Aegislash, but only if they can actually hit their mark, and since most Ground-type attacks only affect Pokémon on the ground, Aegislash shouldn’t be too worried.” The man explained, nodding to the fact that the Royal Sword Pokémon was in fact floating.

Down on the field, the referee raised his flags again. “Rhyperior versus Aegislash, battle begin!” With that, the second round of this three-on-three match had started.

Like before, Jessica made the first move. “Flamethrower!” A stream of flames was sent from the Drill Pokémon’s mouth, aimed right at Aegislash.

“Counter with Flash Cannon!” Serena called out and Aegislash, quickly changing its stance into Blade Form pointed the tip of its sword straight at Aegislash and fired a blast of silvery Steel-type energy right into the stream of fire which considering the massive difference in Special Attack between the two Pokémon never stood a chance with the the Steel and Ghost-type easily overpowering the Ground and Rock-type.

“Rhyperior!” Jessica called out in alarm as her Pokémon took the full force of the super effective attack. “Fine, if that won’t work, then let’s try Thunder Punch!” She growled out, however her command only caused Serena to smirk.

“King’s Shield!” Aegislash quickly switched to Shield Form as it summoned an energy shield of white hexagons, just in time to intercept Rhyperior’s electricity covered fist, blocking the attack and draining the Drill Pokémon of some of his offensive power.

“What was that?!” Jessica yelled out in confusion.

“King’s Shield.” Serena explained, “Aegislash’s signature move. It functions like Protect except any Pokémon that makes direct contact with the energy shield has their Physical Attack weakened.” Then, taking advantage of Jessica processing that bit of info, yelled out “Sacred Sword!” causing her Pokémon to once again switch into Blade Form and swinging its blade, now glowing with light blue Fighting-type energy right across Rhyperior, dealing yet another super effective hit.

“Oh great.” Jessica growled, “How can I beat that thing with it constantly using its shield to switch between offense and defense?” And then, she had an epiphany “That’s it, Rhyperior use Thunder Punch and aim for the shield!”

Serena, not liking where this was going did the only thing she could think of, “King’s Shield!” and like before, the Steel and Ghost-type changed stances and used the hexagonal energy shield to block the electrified punch and drain Rhyperior of its Physical Attack, however this time…

“Rhyperior, keep it up!”

“Aegislash, you too!” And so, the Drill Pokémon continued to attack Aegislash’s King’s Shield with multiple Thunder Punches however, as this went on, Serena started to grow concerned, while the Ground and Rock-Type’s attacks grew weaker with every hit, King’s Shield like Protect also grew weaker with every attack it absorbs when active and sure enough, on the third or fourth strike, Rhyperior’s Thunder Punch managed to shatter the hexagonal energy field and connected with Aegislash’s shield at such an angle that the Royal Sword Pokémon was forcibly switched into Blade Form as it’s shield was dislodged, landing on the ground at Rhyperior’s feet.

Jessica wasted no time, “Bulldoze now!” and instead of sending a wave of Ground-type energy through the ground as would normally occur, he sent it all straight into Aegislash by stomping down hard onto its shield.

“Aegislash!” Serena called out in horror as her Pokémon convulsed in agony. In Blade Form, Aegislash’s defenses were practically non-existent and he just took one hundred percent of the impact from a super-effective attack, one more solid hit and Aegislash would be done for, and Rhyperior was literally standing on top of Aegislash’s shield. This was bad.

“End this with Rock Wrecker!” Stepping back so it could aim for the shield, Rhyperior put its hands together as small chunks of gray stone came out of the holes on Rhyperior's hands and began to form a single large rock held in place by a glowing red aura.

“Aegislash!” Serena yelled in panic, “Code red!” and without a second of hesitation, Aegislash who had just barely managed to recover from the devastating Bulldoze shot off at speed using Aerial Ace to accelerate with a single loop before diving blade first, glowing with a Sacred Sword straight at the rock in Rhyperior’s hands. And about halfway to his target fired a Flash Cannon as well, but with the speed he was moving instead of a beam of energy, all that could be seen, assuming one was using a high speed camera, was the glowing blue blade gaining a shimmering silver aspect to it. Then, at the very moment the tip of Aegislash’s sword impacted the Rock Wrecker the combined force of the four types of elemental energy triggered a massive explosion and when the smoke cleared…

“Both Aegislash and Rhyperior are unable to battle, this battle is a draw!” The referee called, leading to the two trainers to recall their Pokémon with only Serena giving any thanks or words of comfort.

“Thanks for giving it your best.”

Back in the stands, Ash had a speechless expression on his face, “What was that?!” He turned to Bonnie and Clemont who also had stunned looks on their faces.

“That was the Divine Blade.” Clemont explained after regaining his barings, “it’s her most powerful combination move, three attacks in one, Aerial Ace, Sacred Sword and Flash Cannon, so far no one has ever been able to withstand it, but the backlash is so strong that it also knocks out Aegislash.”

“So it’s a move of last resort.” Ash said in understanding, as it stood Serena was technically in the lead but Braviary was both tired and poisoned and probably wouldn’t last long against much of anything at this point and if he had to guess, Jessica was saving her best for last. The two tossed out their last Pokémon with Serena’s choice being none other than Braixen, her starter, while Jessica’s appeared to be a white Ninetales. “Wait, that’s a Ninetales right?” A question shared by many in the stands.

Clemont, however, was amazed at seeing such a majestic and exotic Pokémon. “It’s from the Alola region.” He clarified.

Ash once again nodded in understanding. “So it’s another regional variant.”

Lysandre nodded, “That’s correct, I’ve been to Alola a few times myself, apparently living on the snow-capped Mount Lanakila has caused them to become an Ice and Fairy-type.” 

Back on the field, the ref once more raised his flags and declared “Braixen versus Ninetales, battle begin!” And not a moment later, the stadium became engulfed in a hail storm, as the alternate type Fox Pokémon’s ability Snow Warning activated, triggering the heaters hidden in the stands to help protect the spectators from the cold.

Serena winced a bit as she was hit by the freezing hail created by Snow Warning. She knew from the moment it hit the field that her and Braixen’s opponent was a Ninetales as was confirmed by the ref, and with the hail storm, any doubts she might have had about the snow-colored Pokémon being an Ice-type were instantly discarded. Like usual, it was Jessica who called the first move, though this time around, she went the defensive route.

“Aurora Veil!” She yelled, causing Ninetales to let out a cry surrounding her with a rainbow colored aura, an aura which, while beautiful, was bad news for for Serena and Braixen as that move happens to cut nearly all damage the Ice and Fairy-type would take in half so long as the hail storm remains in effect, rendering Braixen’s type advantage meaningless, however this provided Serena with the opportunity to take the initiative.

“Flamethrower!” Braixen grabbing the branch from her tail, gave it a twirl and used it to send a stream of fire straight at Ninetails.

“Jump and use Ice Beam!” Just barely managing to avoid the incoming flames, Ninetales leaped into the air, firing the icy blue freeze ray straight at Braixen.

“Catch it with Psychic!”

“Huh?” Jessica exclaimed in confusion as Braixen’s eyes began to glow blue as she began to spin her wand-like branch, the tip of which was also glowing blue, and to everyone’s shock, the incoming Ice Beam began to curve until it too was moving in a circle in front of Braixen following the movements of the Fire-type’s wand.

“Now combine it with Flamethrower and send it back!” Serena commanded with a smirk.

 _“Right!”_ Braixen replied, using her wand to add quite a bit of fire to the ring of Ice-type energy under her telepathic control and with a flick of her wrist sent both attacks straight at her opponent who, along with her trainer, were too stunned to react as the two-pronged blast of hot and cold collided with the Alolan Pokémon in a massive explosion.

It was only upon seeing Braixen posing in spite of the falling hail that Serena's strategies finally made sense to Jessica. “Wait a minute, you're a Coordinator, aren't you?” She asked in distaste, having always found them to be rather annoying to face given their tendency towards unconventional strategies, especially their signature unpredictable combinations.

Serena only smirked, “Flamethrower.”

Snapping out of it, Jessica finally issued a command, “Block it with Weather Ball!” Ninetales, finally getting her senses back together from being hit with the fire infused Ice Beam, launched the hail influenced energy sphere at the incoming stream of fire, which upon contact, exploded in a massive cloud of steam and the very moment she could see Braixen’s silhouette though the steam called out “Dazzling Gleam!”

Unlike Serena’s Ponyta who preferred to hold on to the energy and slam into her opponent, Ninetales used it in a more traditional manner, forming a sphere of Fairy-type energy around herself before firing hundreds of bolts of rainbow-colored light straight at Braixen. Serena however, had other ideas. “Braixen, you know what to do, Psychic!”

“What, the...?” Jessica exclaimed in shock, echoing the thoughts of just about everyone in the audience, as when the smoke and steam had cleared, there was Braixen, floating a good twenty-five feet above the battlefield using her own telekinetic abilities. “How are you doing that?” Self-levitation via the move Psychic was well known to be among the most difficult techniques for a Psychic-type to learn and here was Braixen, a pure Fire-type making it look easy.

“Oh, this?” Serena replied in clear amusement, “This is just a little something we put together for the Johto Grand Festival, though we never had a chance to show it off until now.”

Shaking her head a bit, Jessica took her mind off Serena and her crazy Pokémon and put it back on the battle at hand, “Ice Beam!” but it was to no avail as Braixen, able to float freely in any direction, was able to dodge the freeze ray with relative ease and to make matters even worse for Serena’s opponent, it was then that the sky began to clear and moments later, the aurora protecting Ninetails began to fade. Knowing this to be her chance, Serena didn’t hesitate.

“Here’s the coup de grâce! Braixen, end this with Fire Blast!”

“Dodge it, quick!” What was left of Jessica’s composure shattered, knowing that if this attack landed,it would be over for her, but it was too little, too late as the Fire-type quickly closed the distance with the Ice and Fairy-type and using her wand, unleashed the powerful move at point-blank range and when the flames subsided, Braixen was the only Fox Pokémon standing.

The referee raised his flags pointing in Jessica’s direction and then in Serena’s. “Ninetales is unable to battle, Braixen is the winner! All three of Jessica’s Pokémon have been defeated, so the victor is Serena Yvonne of Vaniville Town!” Celebration broke out among the stands as Serena raced onto the field where she embraced Braixen in a big hug.

The Fox Pokémon returned the hug, clearly exhausted from being pelted by hail and having to hold herself aloft with her mind for so long, she was going to need a nice long nap after this, however, she had just enough strength to join Serena in waving to the cheering crowd. Jessica said nothing as she returned her Ninetales, clearly in shock at watching Braixen defeat her strongest Pokémon without taking a single hit. “Hey, that was a great battle, you had us on the ropes a few times there.” However, Serena’s words fell on deaf ears as Jessica just walked off the field in shock after watching her strongest Pokémon get taken down without being able to land a single hit.

Up in the stands, Lysandre shot the woman a look of disgust. ‘It’s good sportsmanship in an official battle that two opponents shake hands or at least acknowledge each other. Like the selfish and self-absorbed person she is, she tarnishes the beauty of the League and the world with her very presence.’ He looked down at Popplio, who was clapping in celebration along with everyone else.

Snivy hung on the railing with her vines while Dedenne hung onto Bonnie’s shoulder. The two Pokémon joining their trainer in the excitement for Serena’s win. “Alright, way to go Serena, you too Braixen!”

Ash jumped out of his seat with Pikachu hoping up on his shoulder. “Alright, Serena, that was awesome!” Somehow, his voice managed to cut through the crowd as Serena turned to look at him and her friends. However, when she did, she immediately froze with her eyes locked on the person to Ash’s left, her father Lysandre.

Meanwhile, in far off Vaniville Town, Grace cheered as she watched her daughter’s victory on TV. The retired Rhyhorn Racer had been waiting for this ever since her daughter had called to tell her that she was taking on the Sinnoh League, and now her little girl had scored her first big win. It made having to deal with the eight-hour time difference between Kalos and Sinnoh worth it. “That’s my girl, I think she has what it takes to win this thing, don’t you think?”

“Fletch, Fletching!” Her Fletchling cheered in agreement with her trainer.

Rhyhorn who was laying on the floor gave his smile in agreement. “Rhyhorn.”

The fourth member of the household had a smile on her dark purple and white face. “Indeedee.” The Emotion Pokémon took a sip of the tea she had prepared for both her and Grace. To Serena’s mother, the Galarian Pokémon was such a joy to have around the house and was always such a big help.

“I kinda wish Absol was here to watch this with us.” Grace thought of the other Pokémon her daughter had left with her. The Disaster Pokémon tended to travel around a bit and usually returned every other week. “Hopefully she comes to watch Serena with us soon.” The rest of the group were in agreement about that. As Grace watched the camera pan out around the spectators and froze for just a moment as she could have sworn she saw him there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally Chapter 6, now we are all caught up from now on chapters should come out here and on FF.net on the same day, however as I said previously I don't know when chapter seven will be finished.
> 
> Now about the chapter, well I guess it goes to show that being able to understand Pokéspeech goes a long way for a Trainer and especially a Coordinator, considering that the two way communication enables Trainer and Pokémon to identify problems and work out solutions faster then normal and thus, master difficult techniques much easier, hence all the insane stuff Serena’s Pokémon can do. Of course, big showy techniques are often dangerous, as the Divine Blade knocks out the user from the massive amount of backlash that comes from essentially turning yourself into a missile, supercharging Physical Attacks using moves like Brave Bird likely comes at the cost of increased recoil damage and using Psychic in the creative ways Braixen did is likely to be quite draining, in fact, if the battle had gone on for much longer, Braixen might just have fainted from sheer exhaustion, so don’t expect to see her fly very much. Serena’s going all out here because this is the Sinnoh League and holding back now would just be an insult to her opponents. Mega Evolution is another story considering that she’s so far the only one at the League with that capability and thus, is a bit of an unfair advantage in this scenario, though definitely something she would have to use if she had to go up against either Tobias or Ash.
> 
> Anyways, that will be all for now, thanks for reading, have a nice day and I hope to see you again soon.


End file.
